Angels Wearing Masks
by NijiOnna
Summary: Malik, Ryou, and Yugi go to earth to find proof that demons are taking humans as slaves. While on earth the angels are mistaken for humans, and are taken to serve the rulers of hell. Can they escape before the rulers find out the truth? BxR YYxY MxM SxJ
1. Chapter 1

-1**Summary: **Rumours say that the rulers of Hell are using humans as slaves. Three angels go to see if the rumours are true, and go to the human world in search of some sort of proof to give the elders. What they didn't expect however was two demons to mistake the three angels for three humans. What do they do when they get dragged down to Hell to serve the three most powerful demons of them all?

**Ok, well hello and welcome to my first ever fanfic! Anyway this is really just a bit of fun, but if I get people saying that they like it and want another chapter put up, then I will. If not I'll take the hint and stop ;**

Oh right warnings…. This is a yaoi/shounen ai, story, meaning boyxboy love. Nothing in the first chapter, but there will be later on if people want the story continuing.

**Pairings**: BxR, MxM, YYxY (maybe SxJ later on)

**Disclaimer**: Don't own the yu-gi-oh characters…

Angels Wearing Masks

Chapter 1

Misty reds and purples were sucked into the swirling vortex that circled the sky, creating darkness all round. Below that haunting sky was a land full of beings that have been described as bloodthirsty, cruel, heartless, and manipulative. The beings that are called demons. Creatures with large black, leather wings, four times longer than a humans arm. Sharp pointed fangs that could pierce the toughest of skins, be that of an animal or any other creature. Razor like claws that could cut through a persons neck, as easily as any blade. A long, thick, black tail with a blunt pincer that clasped together to concealed a poisonous stinger, meaning an instant death, if the demon wished to inject such a life threatening amount. And of course the two pointed white horns, that would appear when the demon was extremely angry, or when wanting to show dominance over another. The world of demons, also known as 'Hell', also inhabited many humans, although not one of them had been brought their from their own free will. No. Humans that lived there were used as slaves, food, workers, or even for means of sexual pleasure. The ones that ruled over this hell were three brothers called Yami, Marik, and Bakura.

Yami was the oldest brother, and therefore had more responsibility over hell than his other brothers. He was slender and had that of an athletes body. On his head was a crown shape of hair, with the ends coloured a dark crimson, and then further down fell into black. He also had blonde bangs that came down just over the sides of his face, and more that streaked up into the black and crimson hair. His eyes were a deep ruby red.

Marik was slightly younger than Yami. Marik's eyes were a cold purple, where a hint of insanity could clearly be seen. His hair was a sandy blonde colour that shot up to the sky, quite similar to his elder brother. Marik's body was more muscular compared to his other two brothers, and unlike his other two brothers, his skin was darker, with a natural tan.

Bakura was the youngest brother. He had grey, almost white, hair. It reached just past his shoulders, and was slightly spiked all over, more so on the top of his head, where it almost looked like he had a second pair of strangely shaped horns. His eyes were brown with a hint of red, and like his older brother Marik, held a slight amount of insanity to them. Bakura's skin was pale, much paler than his brothers, but even so it did not make him look ill, somehow it just worked for him. His build was also similar to Yami's.

They were the most powerful demons of them all, and made sure that the other demons never forgot that. They did many things to prove this fact, such as shows of public torture to those who did not follow their rules, something Bakura and Marik enjoyed doing personally. The three brothers lived in a large stone castle, which towered above all the other small buildings where their followers lived.

For Bakura and Marik, today was the same as any day. Cause some havoc in the castle, threaten a few lives, do the daily torture, annoy Yami, and so on. Now however they were extremely bored, and were just sitting in Bakura's room. Bakura was sitting on his blood red quilt on top of his king sized bed, wings folded back, fiddling with one of his many daggers. Marik was sitting backwards on a chair in front of Bakura's oak desk, resting his head on top of his crossed arms that were laid on top of the chair, and just staring into space with his wings drooped to the floor, his tail occasionally flicking from side to side.

"Bakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Marik said in a slightly annoyed and bored voice. Bakura however was ignoring him, and still concentrating on his dagger. Marik frowned.

"Bakura!" Bakura didn't so much as flinch. Marik growled slightly.

"BAKURA YOU BAKKA! STOP IGNORING M-" Marik's sentence was quickly cut off when a strong gust of wind was felt dangerously close at the side of his face. He blinked then looked behind him seeing Bakura's dagger embedded into the wall above the oak desk. If Marik was leaning just a little more to the left… well the dagger wouldn't be stuck in the wall, that's for sure.

"Shut up screaming." Bakura replied, finally looking at Marik from the bed.

"But I'm bored!"

"And what do you expect me to do about it?" Before Marik could reply however, another voice was heard from one of the many hallways in the castle.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!" More quieter voices could also be heard, obviously trying to calm the person down. Marik and Bakura looked at each other.

"Yami sounds mad today Bakura."

"I don't get why… we haven't done anything that we don't usually do."

"Me either, I mean the last time I heard him this mad, was when he was 13 and we gave him that haircut while he was sleeping." Bakura scoffed.

"He should have thanked us for that. He looks like he got electrocuted for fucks sake! At least with our haircut there wasn't as much hair to stick up…" Bakura trailed off as he looked at Marik's hair, and the way his long blonde strands shot up to the sky, as though defining gravity. "Maybe I was just adopted." Marik frowned.

"Hey don-"

Again Marik was cut off, as the door to Bakura's bedroom suddenly swung open, and there, stood in the doorway, was their beloved brother Yami.

"I'm going to kill you two!"

The two younger brothers just stared at Yami, obviously not taking his threat the least bit seriously.

"Marik." Yami moved to step in front of the demon sat on Bakura's chair, and growled threateningly. "Seto just told me that you've killed twelve slaves this week." The blonde demon just shrugged.

"And you." Yami turned to Bakura, his voice just as threatening. "You've killed fifteen personal slaves this week!"

"And?" The other two demons said in unison. Yami thrashed his tail against the floor, obviously stressed.

"This has been going on for five months now, and it's costing us money with the slave traders. They raise the price every two weeks because of you two!"

Marik and Bakura looked at each other again, then back to Yami.

"And?" They both repeated again, still not seeing the problem.

The older brother clenched his fists, at his siblings attitudes, and then took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"And", Yami spoke again with a slight smug smirk on his face "from now on you two don't get any more personal slaves until next year."

"WHAT!" Suddenly the other two demons looked very alarmed.

"You can't do that!" Bakura shouted furiously.

"That's not fair!" Marik added with a wine.

"Both of you shut up." Yami quickly said to put a stop to his brothers complaints. "I don't want to hear it, it's your own fault not mine, if you would just stop killing off our humans then this wouldn't be a problem."

"But they keep bringing me the wrong weapons."

"They keep tripping over something and spilling the glass of blood I ask for."

"They cry to much."

"They keep wining about food and water."

"They die too easily."

"They beg for mercy before I even start the beating."

"They need too much sleep."

"There're weak."

"They get scared too easily."

"And my last slave was no good in bed."

"That to." Bakura agreed. "And what's even worse, is that sometimes I hear them praying to God, and those damn angels." The youngest demon snarled out.

"It's not our fault that they can't do anything right, and if they can't do what there're told to do, then there's no point in keeping them around. Human's are such worthless creatures anyway."

"Well if there're so worthless, then it wouldn't matter if you didn't get anymore, right?" The tricolour haired demon said again.

"WRONG!" Both younger demons screamed.

"What if-"

"QUIET!" Yami glared coldly, and put a stop to his brothers arguments before it started again. He really didn't need this, and he was already getting a headache. "I'm not arguing with you two anymore. I'm not the one to blame here, so go argue with yourselves." And without saying anything more, Yami turned round and walked out the room. Just as the door shut however, another one of Bakura's daggers had managed to attach itself to the door, right where Yami's head was less than a second ago before he moved.

Marik turned to look at Bakura, seeing the furious expression on his face, and then back to the dagger in the door. Where did he get all those daggers anyway? He didn't even see Bakura move to get another one…

"It doesn't matter." Bakura's calm voice got Marik's attention again, and this time Marik noticed that his brother had a calm, and slightly cruel, smirk on his face. To anyone else that look on Bakura's face would be a bad thing, and would certainly get people running. For Marik however, it only got him excited.

"Got an idea Bakura?"

"Yami is complaining about money issues and crap with the slave traders, right?"

"Yeah? And?"

Bakura's smirk suddenly grew crueller, and he jumped off the bed. "Come on Marik we're going."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Going where?"

"To the human world of course." Bakura stated as though it was obvious. "If we can't buy anymore slaves, then we'll just go and snatch some free ones."

Angels. Creatures with elegant, feathery white wings, and surrounded by an innocent, and pure aura. Heaven. A beautiful place where angels roam. A happy place where they would watch the many humans below, and bless their souls whenever they got the chance. A place where there is no pain, fear, or hate. A place which some refer to as 'paradise'. That's what people say anyway, but sadly that was a lie. Yes, it was beautiful. Clear sky's, sparkling clean waters, trees, exotic flowers, and so much more. Yes, the angels did watch over the humans as best they could, without doing too much interfering. However, no pain, fear, or hate? No, that was wrong. Angels could cry, scream, and hurt, just as much as a human could. Of course not everyone knew that… it was an angels secret. Besides, if angels acted so much like humans themselves, how could the humans on earth put so much trust in the angels to help and protect them? No. It was better to be kept a secret. Not even the demons knew of the angels human weakness, and the angels planned to keep it that way. No good was to come out of the demons knowing.

Ryou, Malik, and Yugi, were best friends, all roughly the same age, and relatively new angels. However, they had already made sure they knew all the rules of Heaven, and had already learnt to fly with their new wings.

Malik was the oldest by a few months. He had light, sandy blonde coloured hair that just reached his shoulders. His skin was tanned, and resembled someone who had been living in a hot country, such as Egypt. His eyes were a fierce violet, sparkling with mischief, bravery, and kindness.

Ryou was almost the exact opposite to Malik in both personality, and looks. Ryou's hair was a stunning snowy white, and had a hint of lavender reflected in it when the light hit it just right. The angels hair fell past his shoulders. Ryou's eyes showed shyness, and innocence, and were a rich chocolate brown colour. His skin wasn't quite a pale as his hair, but it was still quite pale, but even so this only added to his angelic appearance, and didn't look off putting at all.

Yugi's personality was more like Ryou's. He was naïve, shy, but very trustworthy. His hair stood up at odd angles, almost shaped like a star. It was also multi coloured. The outline of his hair was red, and then the rest black, with golden blonde bangs hanging down the side of his face, framing his large lilac eyes. Also, although Yugi was the same age as his friends, he did look a lot younger, and was shorter to.

Right now the three friends were walking to the gates of heaven.

"Come on Ryou I dare you!" The blonde haired angel was smirking playfully, and pushing Ryou towards the large gates that was the only way in/out of Heaven.

"B-but Malik it's against the rules!" The snowy haired angel replied back.

"Yeah Malik we could all get into big trouble for this!" Yugi was walking beside his two friends, not liking the situation at all. "We can't do this!"

Malik sighed and stopped his pushing. "But I'm bored! There's nothing to do around here!" The older angel wined. Malik was the kind of person who liked getting into fights, and cause trouble. It was easy to see how someone like him could get bored in a place like Heaven.

"That doesn't mean we should go sneaking out of Heaven, Malik." Yugi said again.

"That's not the only reason." Malik counted, and looked at Yugi seriously. "I've heard that demons have been taking humans down to Hell as slaves."

Ryou and Yugi looked at Malik, clearly shocked.

"How do you know this?" Ryou asked suspiciously.

"Heard some other angels talking." Malik shrugged. "In any case, I want to go check it out and see if it's true, maybe we can catch a demon in the act and get some sort of proof to show the elders!"

"But wouldn't the elders know if demons were kidnapping humans?" Ryou reasoned. Yugi nodded his head, agreeing with Ryou.

Malik crossed his arms, obviously starting to get impatient with his two friends. "So what your both saying is that because the elders **_might _**already know about this, it means that it's absolutely impossible for it to be true?"

The two slightly younger angels looked at each other, with small frowns on their faces.

"Well no, but that's not wh-" Ryou started, but Malik quickly cut him off.

"So we should go check it out right?"

"But-" Yugi tried, but just like Ryou, his sentence was cut off.

"Exactly, so lets get going then!" Malik said with a big grin, then quickly turned round, grabbed both of his friends wrists, and started dragging them towards the gate again.

Yugi and Ryou both gave up and sighed.

"But Malik how are we even suppose to get past the guard? They don't just let angels walk through the gates to do as they please."

Malik stopped again, and looked over his shoulder at his two friends. "Have you noticed who's on guard duty today?"

Yugi and Ryou looked past Malik's shoulder to see Jounochi Katsuya leaning against the gates. Ryou and Yugi immediately groaned.

"Malik leave Jou alone." Malik and Jou weren't exactly best friends. For some reason they just couldn't seem to get along, and Malik just loved to set Jou off.

"Awww but Yugi I'm not gonna start a big fight or anything! I'll just get him angry enough for him to start chasing me a little, then I'll lose him and come back here."

"I don't know…" But it was too late, Malik was already heading over to Jounochi.

"Hey Katsuya! What the hell are you doing on guard duty! I thought they only let angels do that? Not thick headed dogs!" The mischievous angel smirked proudly, when he saw Jou's right eye twitch with annoyance.

"Go away Malik! Don't ya have somethin better to do instead of comin all the way over here to me, and act like a prick?"

"Oh don't worry my dear Jounochi I make time in my busy schedule just for you!" Malik said in mockingly sweet voice. "But seriously, a mutt like you guarding Heavens gates? That's suicide! All a demon has to do is throw a dog treat over, and he can just stroll right in!"

"Malik I'm warnin ya, get lost before I get really mad." Jounochi practically growled out, his hands in tight fists by his sides, trying to withhold his rage.

"Oh is the dog growling now? Well that's ok, I should have a muzzle here somewhere." Malik said calmly, while pretending to search his pockets.

"Why ya little runt!" Jou suddenly charged forwards, fists flying, ready to punch his rival directly in the face. Malik however was to fast, and jumped into the air, his wings immediately sprouting from his back. The lavender eyed angel then wagged his finger at the angel now below him.

"Bad dog! No biting!" Malik said mockingly.

"You cocky little bastard! Just wait until I get my hands on ya!" Jou then leaped into the air, his own set of wings sprouting from his back, and heading straight for Malik. Could Jou always fly that fast? Maybe Malik just took it a little bit too far… nah. Malik quickly speeded off, Jou hot on his trail.

From the ground, the other two angels sweat dropped.

"Hey Ryou?"

"Yeah Yugi?"

"I think we need to have a talk with Malik about how he treats Jou…"

A few minutes later Malik returned to where Ryou and Yugi were standing, panting slightly, with a big grin on his face.

"That wasn't very nice Malik." Ryou told the blonde disappointingly.

"Hey it worked didn't it?" Malik said the grin still in place.

"You look too happy… What did you do to lose Jou?"

Ryou and Yugi didn't think that Malik's grin could get any wider, but the tanned angel certainly proved them wrong.

"I got him to take a flea bath, that's all." The angels almost didn't want to ask.

"Meaning what exactly?" Ryou asked worriedly.

"Meaning," Malik began "that I **_accidentally_** flew a little too low to the ground, and that I **_accidentally_** flew straight for a water fountain, but thankfully I managed to pull up at the last minute. Jou however flew directly into the sculpture in the middle of the fountain, and then fell straight into the water."

Ryou and Yugi just stared at Malik, shocked. "Malik!" They both shouted disapprovingly.

"But forget that, it's time to go to the human world!" Malik stated as though his friends didn't say a thing.

"But Malik we don't even have the key to open the gates." Yugi said, shaking his head.

"Got it covered." Malik replied, and pulled out a golden key from his one of his pockets. "I stole it from Jou when he was laying in the water knocked out." Yugi and Ryou suddenly looked very nervous.

"So were actually doing this then?…" Yugi asked more to Ryou than Malik.

"I…guess so." Ryou said not looking the least bit pleased with the situation.

"Of course we are! Now come on you two before that bakka inu gets back." Malik added, then put the key into the lock, and opened the gate. He then looked back at his friends, and held the gate door open.

"Well then, shall we go?" He said politely, and with a charming smile on his face.

Anyone want this continuing? Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

-1Just wanted to say thanks to **Triana2** and **Poenalime** for my first reviews!

Chapter 2

Ten minutes later Ryou, Malik, and Yugi were standing right in the middle of a busy town, with swarms of people walking by, doing the daily shopping. The sun was out, and clear blue sky's were all around. Voices could be herd everywhere, laughing, and shouting from market stalls.

"R-R-Ryou? M-Malik?… d-did we survive?" Poor Yugi's quivering voice could be heard from where he stood beside Ryou, while at the same time gripping onto Ryou's arm **extremely** tightly.

Ryou was standing, eyes closed, and muscles very tense, as though he was preparing himself for something very big. Malik didn't seem much better either. The tanned angel was frozen on the spot, looking quite shocked, and staring in front of himself, as though he was in some sort of trance.

Ryou slowly opened an eye. "Yeah Yugi I think so." When the angel noticed humans walking by, he opened both eyes, and relaxed, realising that they made it to the human world safe and sound. The white haired angel then turned to look at Malik.

"Malik? Are you ok?"

Ryou's gentle, but worried voice, snapped Malik out of his shocked trance. "Yeah Ryou I'm fine!" He replied quickly.

At the sound of Malik's voice Yugi quickly opened his eyes, and released his grip on Ryou, to glance at Malik. "You could have warned us you know!" Yugi said with a pout.

Malik let out a nervous laugh, and turned away slightly. "Ok, so maybe I underestimated the portals travelling experience a little." He then looked back to his friends, and saw both of them glaring dangerously at him. At least they were trying to glare anyway. It looked more cute than intimidating, but Malik wasn't about to say anything that was going to get him in more trouble.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "A little? As soon as we left Heaven and found the portal that lead to the human world, you said '"Don't worry guys! It'll be just like stepping through a simple door! You take one step and your there!"' We were thrown back and forth in that portal for a whole five minutes!"

Malik did his best to defend himself. "I swear I didn't know guys! I-"

"Look mummy! Look at the angels pretty wings!"

The three stopped their arguing instantly when hearing a five year old girl with brown curly hair, and emerald green eyes, squeal with excitement.

"Can I go touch the wings mummy? Please!" The child pleaded with her mother. The mother was slender and also had brown hair, but had sky blue eyes instead of green.

Each angel was frozen to the spot. They didn't forget to hide their wings did they? They couldn't have! It was such an obvious thing to do! As each of them turned round to look at their back however, they were all thinking the same thing…crap.

"Can I mummy? Please? Please? Please?" The child carried on begging to her mother, tugging on her skirt for her mothers attention, even though she clearly had it.

"No honey. I'm sorry, but you can't just go up to random strangers and-"

"Excuse me." A quiet polite voice spoke.

The mothers attention was taken away from her daughter for a few seconds, as she glanced at soft brown eyes. Ryou smiled at her, and spoke again.

"It's ok, she can touch my wings if she wants."

The child's mother found herself smiling back at the quiet boy. For some reason she found it impossible to look at that smiling face, without smiling back. Without waiting for her mothers reply, the girl let out another excited squeal of delight, and ran over to Ryou. The woman just sighed at her daughters manners, and walked over to the three boys.

Ryou got down on one kneel, allowing the girl to feel as much a she could.

"There so soft!" The girl said happily, while gently moving her hand over Ryou's left wing.

The girls parent moved towards Malik and Yugi, putting down her shopping bag by her feet. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you buy them from? Maybe I could get some wings for my own little angel." The mother asked with a cheerful smile, while her daughter was still happily giggling away with Ryou.

Yugi and Malik took a quick side glance at each other, desperately thinking of something to say, but thankfully the five year old saved them.

"You can't buy wings mummy! You have to wait until you go to heaven and become a real angel!" The girl said proudly, thinking that she knew something her mother did not, while at the same time laying her cheek against Ryou's wing.

The women chuckled at her response.

"I suppose your right sweetie. How silly of me to think otherwise." She then looked down at her watch, and quickly grabbed the shopping bag again. "Oh my! Come on sweet heart, it's time to go. It's nearly dinner time and I haven't even started cooking yet. Your father will be thinking we got lost!" She then offered her hand to her daughter, who was clinging onto Ryou.

"Awww do we have to go so soon mummy? I want to play with the angels longer." She wined sadly.

"Sorry hon."

The green eyed girl pouted, but took her mothers offered hand, who removed her from Ryou.

"It was nice to meet you three gentlemen, take care of yourselves." The woman then turned around, taking her child with her.

"Bye angels!" The girl waved as she was taken away. Ryou and Yugi waved goodbye until the two females were out of sight.

"Ryou what were you thinking!" Malik began as soon as the two humans were gone.

"Oh come on Malik, leave Ryou alone. Nothing bad happened after all." Yugi said in Ryou's defence.

"But what if they figured out that we were real a-" Malik stopped himself as he realised they were still stood in the middle of the town. Instead of finishing his sentence Malik grabbed both his friends wrists, and dragged them behind a building, and away from view of any passing humans.

"I'm sorry guys" Ryou replied sadly to his friends as soon as Malik had stopped, feeling genuinely guilty, "It's just I felt as though I had to. I mean did you see the way her eyes lit up when she saw our wings?" Ryou smiled at the recent memory. "I didn't want to upset her, I didn't want her smile to leave her face so quickly…"

Malik sighed at Ryou's excuse, but in truth he expected him to say something like this. He looked to his side and noticed Yugi smiling at Ryou in understanding. Yugi was similar to Ryou as well. Always putting others before himself. It was in their nature to try and make people happy Malik supposed.

"Never mind, like Yugi said nothing bad happened… let's just hide the wings now, ok?"

Both Yugi and Ryou nodded, and all three angels closed their eyes. Two small glowing orbs of light appeared at each of the angels feet, and started circling their figures, moving up slowly until they reached the two wings on their back. A gentle touch on each wing from the two orbs caused each wing to silently vanish. The orbs glowed brighter, before they threw themselves into their angels back. At that moment all three sets of eyes snapped open.

"So what happens now?" Yugi asked.

"Now we go to look for proof to show that demons have been taking humans, and inform the elders." Malik answered.

"But how are we suppose to do that? Demons won't come to the human world in demon form. They'll look just look like any other human. We won't be able to tell the difference." Ryou added with growing concern in his voice. "Plus your forgetting that all this might not even be true."

"Gives us something to do though huh?" The violet eyed blonde said with a mischievous smirk.

"What about that sense thing?"

"What?" Both Ryou and Malik turned their heads to look questionably at Yugi.

"You know. That thing that the more experienced angels were telling us. They said an angel would be able to sense if a demon was near, just by concentrating."

"Oh yeah I remember now!"

"But guys they said only specially trained angels can do that. We haven't even been in heaven that long, let alone gone through any type of special training." The white haired angel reminded them.

"How hard can it be?" Malik retorted

"I really don't think-"

"Shush I'm concentrating!" Malik interrupted, with his eyes once again closed.

Yugi and Ryou stood in silence, staring at Malik while they waited… and waited, and waited, and waited… After about five minutes Malik suddenly opened his eyes.

"Did you sense anything?" Both Yugi and Ryou asked at the same time. There was a slight pause from Malik.

"… Actually I'm not even sure if I was doing it right." Malik laughed out. Ryou and Yugi sweat dropped. "But maybe were just not close enough to a demon yet, so that's why it didn't work!"

"Em, Malik?"

"Yeah Yugi?"

"Even if we do find a demon, that doesn't prove that their kidnapping humans and taking them down to Hell."

"Why else would they be in the human world?"

"Oh I don't know Malik… maybe because they were bored?" Yugi said, now looking accusingly at the blonde, but in a playful way never the less. Yugi could never really be mad with his friends. Especially not Malik and Ryou, they've always been there for him, right from when he first came into Heaven.

"Ok, ok. Point taken Yugi." Malik said sulkily.

Ryou just laughed at his friends good naturally. "Well should we take a look around then? I mean even if we don't find a demon…" Ryou looked around the corner, to watch the many people walking past the front of the building, "…I would still like to enjoy our time here." The quiet boys happy and cheerful attitude faulted slightly, and he smiled sadly. "It's not often that angels get to spend time on earth after all."

Yugi suddenly had a slightly upset and troubled expression on his face and lowered his head, suddenly finding the ground quite interesting. Malik just turned his head away sharply, his violet eyes suddenly lost their mischievous shine.

There was a minor silence before any of them spoke. The meaning behind Ryou's words were just too hard to ignore. As soon as someone appears in Heaven, all memory's of their previous lives are erased. It was not just because of some rule that the elders put into place. It just happened, no one really knew why, but because of this it caused a few angels to feel insecure, doubtful, and yes even depressed, especially the younger ones. They had nothing to prove that they once had a mother or father, a brother or sister. They had no proof to say that they were once loved… but maybe that was for the best. After all who's to say their lives before becoming angels were happy ones? All angels were once human, but only their feelings and emotions were proof of that. On rare occasions, angels would receive some flash backs of their previous life, and they would be able to remember something of their past, but it hardly ever happened. Unless of course something triggers the memory off.

After a moment though, Ryou hurriedly turned back to face them, his cheerful smile now once again back in place. "Sorry guys just ignore me. We don't need our memory's to be happy, just as long as were happy now, right?"

Yugi looked up to see Ryou's comforting smile, the small boy gave him his own bright smile in return, as though all his uneasiness had suddenly disappeared within a second. "Your right Ryou, were just getting glum over nothing. Don't you agree Malik?"

Malik snapped his head back round instantly, his small mischievous grin back in place.

"Of course. Now lets get a move on and find some demons!"

Yugi and Ryou sighed, and reluctantly nodded. All three of them walked around the corner, and back into the market, as they started their search. Malik constantly saying that he would sense if a demon was near or not along the way. For some reason though, Ryou and Yugi seriously doubted it, but at least they could have some fun while they searched.

"Look at them all Bakura!" The tanned demon shouted excitedly like he was a kid in a candy store, eyeing the treats in front of him. Humans simply walked past them on the busy street. Although a few stopped to give a funny look at the strange tanned teen that was shouting so loudly and childishly.

The two demons were standing side by side. Their wings and tails gone after a simple chant was done between them, so now their demon features would only appear if the brothers wanted them to. Their claws and horns weren't a problem to begin with, since their claws could shrink to a more normal size at their will, and their horns only appeared in certain situations anyway.

Bakura hit him over the head for his behaviour. "Shut up you thick dope, your attracting too much attention."

Marik growled and crossed his arms, a small pout appearing on his face. "How many do we plan on taking anyway?" He said, ignoring his brothers remark.

Bakura simply shrugged. "I guess we can't take many. We don't want those disgustingly sweet, rats with wings to notice." He replied gruffly, referring to the angels.

The older demon frowned, clearly disappointed, but he knew his younger brother was right. "Fine." The sandy haired blonde replied a little stubbornly. The two siblings then began their search among the many humans. Their first stop was at the park. It was mostly full of children and a few old couples.

"I'm not taking a kid Bakura." Marik said sternly, as Bakura eyed a couple of children, roughly the age of twelve, playing Frisbee.

Bakura looked confusingly at his brother, for his strange comment. "And why not? You've had child slaves before." However his confused words suddenly changed into those of mocking and spiteful ones. "Or has my dear brother gained a conscience?"

Marik looked at Bakura as though revolted at such an idea. "Don't be stupid. I don't want one because there the one's that cry the most. Plus they need the most training to get anything right." Bakura just rolled his eyes. "Also," Marik continued "I'm not interested in little kids sharing a bed with me when I want to get off."

The brown eyed demon shudded. "Your sick, you know that?"

"This from the guy that gets turned on while tearing bodies apart."

The demon smirked sadistically. "I just love those terrified, and pain filled screams." He said in almost a dream like faze.

"Awww, Kura looks so cute when he's thinking happy thoughts." Marik said sweetly, and patted his little brother on the head.

Bakura snarled angrily, and was close to ripping his brothers hand off, when he unexpectedly felt something hard whack him in the side of the head, followed by Marik's laughter.

"What the hell!" The now angry demon noticed a red ball by his feet, and recognized it a the thing that must have caused the dull throbbing, that was now beginning to sink into his head. His older brother still hadn't stopped his amused laughter. Annoyed, Bakura picked up the ball, planning to throw it at Marik so it would hit him square in the face.

"Excuse me mister."

Bakura looked down to see a small ten year old boy stare up at him, with large sapphire eyes, and short curly blonde hair. He loved so cute, innocent, and naïve… it made Bakura feel sick. To the demon he looked more like a insect that needed squishing.

"Can I have my ball back please?"

Bakura just looked at the boy as though his was stupid. Never, do you come up to an enraged demon. Especially when you're the one that caused him to be enraged in the first place. Bakura's claws grew in length, which sufficiently popped the ball he was holding, so it turned into a flat piece of rubber. The poor boy's eyes began to water with tears at such a sight. The now slightly amused demon dropped the, what once was a ball, on the child's head. The child simply stood their stunned at what happened to his precious ball, tears falling from his eyes, but a sudden hiss from the white haired teen, along with the show of fangs caused the kid to run off crying to his mother.

"Your right Marik." The younger demon suddenly said, as he watched the hysterical boy run away in tears. "Human children do cry the most."

Marik, finally extinguish his giggle fit, only nodded in response.

"Looks guys they have ice cream here!"

Both of the demons attention was brought to outside of the park gates, where an ice-cream van was parked on the street, with a line of humans outside of it waiting patiently. However, among those humans three in particular stood out to the two brothers. The one Marik was staring at looked almost identical to him. He had the blonde hair, copper skin, purple eyes, everything! Though there were some differences. For example, although their hair was the same colour of sandy blonde, the hair style was different. It didn't shoot up to the sky like Marik's did. His eyes were a shade of purple, yes, but they did not hold the same insanity as Marik's did. The boys body was also not as muscular.

The human Bakura was looking at was right next to the mini Marik, and had that of a pale complexion, exactly like Bakura's. His hair was also the same, though not as wild as the demons. His eyes were also brown, but seemed to be different colour of brown. They were more…. Bakura didn't know how to explain it… warm he supposed.

Since they were so captivated with their two look a likes, they almost didn't notice the short, tricolour haired teen. If it weren't for the obvious height difference, the demons would have easily mistaken him for their older brother. His eyes however were larger, reminding Bakura of the kid he purposely upset in the park.

The three so called 'humans' were oblivious to their stares.

"I want that one Bakura!" Marik stated excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot, and pointing to Malik.

Bakura did his famous cruel smirk, his eyes still not leaving Ryou's form. Oh yes, they had found just what they were looking for. Bakura then briefly took a glance a Yugi. It seemed as though they would have a present to bring back for Yami as well. Maybe if they did that he wouldn't be too pissed at them for sneaking off into the human world. All that Bakura and Marik had to do was wait for the perfect time to strike.

Ok so nothing really exciting happened in this chapter… but I promise their will be in the next one!

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

-1Just wanted to say thank you to my second lot of reviewers **Stacey1447** and **bakura240**

Well on with the next chapter! Hope you all like it.

Chapter 3

"Yugi, what's ice-cream? They don't have this stuff in heaven." Malik asked warily. Whatever it is though, is sure seemed popular here.

Yugi, who was standing in front of Malik in the line leading up to the van, looked over his shoulder, giving him a bright, excited smi-..…wait that's not a smile…was Yugi….smirking? Since when does Yugi smirk? Yugi never smirked. Malik only saw it happen that one time when- OH MY GOD!

"Ryou!" Malik practically screamed, close to hysterics, as he turned round and grabbed his white haired friend by the shoulders, starting to shake him quite roughly. "It's a trap! Yugi has lead us into a trap! It's got to have something to do with that sugar stuff, because he's giving me that creepy looking smirk!"

Ryou's face, if possible, grew even paler, and looked officially washed out. Both boys actually looked terrified, and with good reason to.

Yugi had only once had sugar before, when their friend Otogi, who was a high rank guardian angel and was allowed to go down to earth in certain situations, had brought some candy from the human world as a small gift to the three boys. Such a stupid mistake that was. As soon as Yugi had tasted his own candy, he immediately wanted more, and being the kind friends that Ryou and Malik were, they let Yugi have theirs to. Another stupid mistake. Needless to say it was a day they would never forget, it was a very scary sight. Yugi kept laughing stupidly over nothing, but that was ok, they could deal with that. However that stage soon past, and suddenly Yugi was jumping on angels backs, and running around screaming that he was 'the peachiest peach on the fruit tree' with the same creepy looking smirk on his face that he had now. That wasn't even the worst of it. While screaming this slightly strange/disturbing phrase, he had also ran straight for his friends homes, demanding more candy.

He destroyed four houses that day. His rampage would have continued if it wasn't for Malik tying the hyper boy to a chair until he calmed down…or at least until the twitching stopped. At the end of it all Yugi had eventually fallen asleep in the chair due to his sugar high, not remembering a thing when he woke up. His friends didn't have the heart to tell him what he did.

"Yugi," Ryou spoke nervously, still looking worried "this ice-cream wouldn't happen to have sugar in it would it?"

Yugi who was now looking in front of himself, anxiously waiting for his turn in line, gave a simple yet excited reply. "I'm not sure… but Otogi once said that you could get chocolate ice-cream here!"

Both Ryou and Malik knew that chocolate had sugar in it, since half the candy that Otogi gave them was chocolate. Immediately the two angels had dragged their friend out of the line, gaining a few complaints from Yugi of course, but Malik and Ryou didn't even need to discuss the subject with each other, to know that it was for the best.

All three friends were completely unaware of the two demons watching their every move.

Bakura and Marik were watching the three boys the whole time, being careful to stay out of view, like a lion stalking it's prey just waiting to pounce for the kill.

"Bakura! When can we go snatch them already!" Marik whispered harshly to get his brothers attention. They were both walking a fair distance behind their peculiar look a likes, as to not look suspicious. They were back in the marketplace now, and many people were still shopping, so the two demons following didn't at all stand out.

"Why are you whispering idiot? Their not going to hear us. We're too far away, and anyway even if we were closer I still doubt that they would be able to hear us. Not with all these pathetic humans shouting everywhere-"

"Hey you two! Yeah guy with the blonde hair, and guy with the white hair!"

The said two stopped in their tracks to find out who had shouted them. Their eyes met a pair of amber ones, belonging to a chubby man with long black hair, who looked to be in his mid-thirty's. In front of him was a stall full of flowers.

"You two look as though your having some problems? Bet it's to do with the girlfriends am I right? Well I have the answer! Just buy a bouquet of these exotic flowers, and they'll be all over you again! There're really cheap to!"

Bakura growled, clearly not interested. "We don't want your damn flowers, so just fuck- Marik what the hell are you doing?"

Marik had ran straight up to the mans stall, his gaze firmly set on all the different types of flowers.

"I want to get some flowers for my cute little double!" He shouted back to Bakura, who was now walking up to the stall as well.

Bakura just blinked. "It's not as though your asking him out on a date you dumb ass!"

"Ah! Your going to be admitting your hidden love to that special someone, yes? They why not some beautiful red roses? It's perfect for that classic romance!" The man said in an overly cheerful voice, now focussing more of his attention on Marik than Bakura.

"Really? You think roses would work?" Marik asked, falling for the mans every word.

Bakura on the other hand couldn't believe what he was hearing. His brother had never acted like this over a mere slave before. Hell, Marik's little obsession wasn't even his slave yet!

"Marik…" The younger brother hissed dangerously, keeping his voice low as he whispered into his brothers ear. "Have you already forgotten that we are kidnapping them? I repeat. You are **kidnapping **your little crush, then enslaving him for the rest of his worthless little life in Hell. Not trying to ask him out on a date." The younger demon then gave his older brother a whack over the head, to make sure he got the point across.

The older brother pouted slightly, ignoring the second hit over the head that he had received that day. It's not as though they really hurt anyway, Bakura may mean for them to hurt, but Marik's head was as hard as a rock, so it didn't really matter.

"I still wanted to get him flowers." He mumbled disappointingly.

"So what flowers will you be buying gentlemen?" The man said again, his cheerful voice not once faulting.

"None." Bakura snarled, and pulled Marik away from stall, and back into the busy crowd, where they were following- SHIT! Where did those three humans go! Bakura actually started to panic a little. He wanted that white haired kid, and he'd be damned if he didn't get him! If Marik blew his chance of catching him, he'd slice his brothers head off!

Why was he getting so worked up over a human anyway? He hadn't even met him before. He guessed that it must be lust. The boy was very attractive after all. Or maybe it was just because Bakura found him interesting. I mean how many people could say they practically met their clone? They looked so much alike, the boy just had a more softer look compared to him.

"Bakura I can't find my cute double!"

"And who's fault is that!"

"Sorry Bakura…. But they couldn't have got far, we only looked away for a minute…"

"We wouldn't have looked away at all, if it wasn't for you and those flowers!"

"Hey it's not my fault, I thought it was a good idea!"

"Of course it wasn't a good idea!"

Eventually though, after about five minutes of arguing, they found the three humans once more. The two rulers of Hell guessed that the boys weren't from around here. It was as though they didn't know where they were going, just exploring, and they never bought anything either. However they kept their travels in a well populated area, and it was beginning to get on the two rulers nerves. How were they suppose to grab them with all these other humans around? Not that they couldn't mind you, but if they did then other humans would see and may try to help the three boys. Oh yeah that would be just great. The demons could practically here Yami's screams of anger already. Plus if they were seen it could be harder for slave traders to take humans from earth in the future.

It was now starting to get dark, most people had gone home, and the three angels were walking down the side of a street talking happily.

"That was great guys! I had so much fun!" A joyful Yugi said.

"Yeah it was pretty cool. We didn't see any demons though." Malik stated

"I did tell you that you wouldn't be able to sense anything." Ryou said, with a small smile on his face, he obviously enjoyed himself to.

"I can to sense them!" Malik said quickly in his defence. "There just wasn't any around to sense, that's all."

"Sure Malik" Yugi giggled.

Malik pouted in defeat.

Ryou stopped in his tracks, and let out a regretful sigh. His two friends quickly stopped, and turned around to see why Ryou had stopped.

"What's wrong Ryou?" A concerned Yugi asked.

"You both realise it's getting late right? We've been here for hours, people will probably be starting to wonder where we are." Ryou sighed again, a now saddened expression gracing his features. "And I don't think they'll be pleased when they find out where we were."

Both Malik and Yugi frowned at this. None of them really wanted to go, they were having so much fun here. The human world really was an interesting place, but it was getting dark quickly, and hardly any people were out anymore, plus the market had already closed.

"Ryou's right." Malik said, clearly disappointed. "I guess we should go home now."

"Yeah I guess- AHHH!"

"YUGI!" Both angels watched in horror as their friend screamed in fright, and was all of a sudden pulled into an alleyway.

Straight away Malik and Ryou followed suit, but as soon as they got into the alleyway they found no one there, not even a trace of Yugi to be seen.

"What in gods name just happened!" Malik screamed in frustration.

"Yugi can you hear me! Say something! YUGI WHERE DID YOU GO?" The brown eyed teen cried out, but nothing could be heard. It was as though he just vanished into thin air.

"He's got to be hear somewhere." Malik said desperately, as he pushed away some trash cans, hoping that Yugi was hiding behind them, but with no such luck. The alleyway was small, their was no other place Yugi could have hid. It was a dead end to, so there was no where Yugi could have ran.

"H-he's gone." Ryou cried " I-I don't even u-understand how. I didn't even see anyone grab him! It was all so quick! It's as though he just flew into the alleyway, and passed through a wall out of sight!"

"You shouldn't worry about your friend, you should worry more about yourselves."

Both angels froze on the spot as they heard a hauntingly dark voice pass swiftly through the air, and then echo off the walls all around them.

"Who's there?" Malik shouted out bravely, though a hint of worry was hidden in his voice.

A second voice could now be heard, though it wasn't as sinister as the first. "Is my cute little kitten worried? Don't worry I'll take good care of you."

Malik pulled Ryou close to him. "Ryou" he whispered "You need to run, these guys sound serious."

"I'm not leaving you." Ryou whispered back trying his best to be brave for his friends. "Besides these guys must have took Yugi, you'll need help."

"Ryou we both know I'm stronger than you, you won't stand a chance. Go back to Heaven and get help. I'll be fine."

"But-"

"Go now!"

Ryou nodded unsurely, but did as he was told and ran out of the alleyway. He didn't want to leave Malik, but he was right. If anything he would just get in the way. Besides Malik was strong. Maybe he could beat them and get Yugi back? Either way Ryou still had to get help, and so he ran as fast as he could to find the opening of the portal.

A angered growl could be heard from the alleyway, as Ryou ran off. A white haired figure jumped out of the shadows, and started to run after him. Malik panicked, he couldn't let that guy catch Ryou!

"No!"

Malik quickly started to run after him, only to be stopped by another person stepping out of the shadows to block his way. Malik gasped. This guy looked almost exactly like him!

"Where are you going kitten?"

"Get out of my way!"

Marik stood his ground and crossed his arms, a childish grin on his face. "No."

Malik merely glared, and pushed past him, well he tried to push past him anyway. Sadly for Malik, the other had grabbed his wrist firmly.

"Get off me!" Malik shouted, struggling to pull his wrist free. Damn it, why did this guy have to be so strong!

The purple eyed demon giggled at his future slave's efforts. "Such a stubborn kitty aren't you? The answer is still no."

"I said let go!"

"No."

Malik growled growing very impatient, and brought his other fist up to throw a punch at the mans face. The fist however was caught easily with Marik's free hand. The smaller blonde was a little stunned, this human defiantly had fast reflexes.

The angel then found himself pulled into an embrace, both arms trapped by his sides thanks to Marik's strong grip. Malik blushed slightly, but then almost instantly gave himself a mental slap in the face for doing so. What on earth was this psycho doing anyway? The now somewhat freaked out teen, double his efforts on trying to escape the taller blondes grasp, that is until he felt Marik rest his head on top of his, and nuzzle his noise into his hair affectionately.

"You smell so nice." Marik whispered, his head still on top of Malik's, and his grip still strong, though not enough to hurt the boy in his arms.

Said boy was now not just freaked out, but scared as well. Was this guy going to rape him? Oh god no! What was he going to do! He couldn't even get out of the perverts grip, never mind fight him! Ok, ok just calm down, after all he couldn't worry about himself right now, he had to help Ryou, then go save Yugi!

Malik once again started to struggle, desperately trying to at least loosen the mans hold on him, but to no avail. Meanwhile Marik was still in the same position he was in when he first grabbed Malik, eyes closed, with an innocent and content smile on his face, like a child who just got a new blankey, and didn't want to let go.

Malik realised that this was getting him nowhere, and so instead of twisting about, he lifted his foot in an attempt to kick at his attackers ankle, or at least stamp on his foot, when suddenly he felt his foot being held in place.

Oh great, so this sick rapist had managed to grab his foot as well. He can't even get one hit on this g- … Wait a minute. How could he have grabbed Malik's ankle without moving? I mean he could still feel the freaks arms wrapped around him… so how did he-

"O-oh my god." Malik rasped out in disbelief.

The angel had looked down over his shoulder, to see a long, thick black tail, wrapped around his ankle, stopping his foot from moving.

"Your not human. You're a d-d-" Malik couldn't seem to get the words out. His eyes still fixed on the demon's tail. Or more importantly, the pincer attached to that tail.

"A demon. Yes my pretty kitten." Marik said a lot more happier, and easier than Malik, who still hadn't removed his eyes from the tail. Suddenly though, the pincer opened, causing Malik's eyes to go wide.

Marik sighed regretfully, and lifted his head so that his chin was now resting on Malik's head, instead of his face in Malik's hair. He then tightened his grip around Malik with one arm, while the other went up to stroke Malik's hair.

"I'm sorry kitten, but both me and Bakura agreed that this would be the best way, so there wouldn't be any struggling."

The stinger was in clear sight now, and Malik was absolutely scared to death. Was the psycho going to kill him? Did they know that him and his friends were angels? Was that why all this was happening? Because they got found out? He knew that a demon's stinger could kill, and so he defiantly didn't want to be at the receiving end of that thing. He had to get away from this guy. He needed to save his friends.

"You bastard! Don't you dare touch me with that thing! Just get off!" Malik started screaming at the top of his lungs, he couldn't let this happen. He just couldn't!

Marik simply ignored his yelling, and continued to stroke his hair, as though trying to calm a child down. He then brought the stinger up to his smaller look a likes thigh, and quickly stabbed his stinger into his leg, injection only a small amount of poison. Malik's yelling quickly stopped, his eyes fell closed, and he suddenly went limp in Marik's arms. The demon sat against the alleyway wall, with the boy in his lap, still stroking his hair, and hugging his 'kitten' close with a big grin on his face. Overall he looked as though he was just given the worlds biggest treasure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryou was running behind some buildings in an attempt to get back to the portal as fast as he could. All he had to do was take a short cut through the park, and run back into the now empty market. The portals entrance was somewhere in there. He was running as fast as he could, and the second pair of footsteps he could hear behind him, was giving him more encouragement to do so.

There, he could see the park! He could see the two tress that stood at either side of the parks entrance! He could even see the black painted gates, even though it was so dark now. He did it! He reached the park gates! Now all he had to do was push them op- The gates weren't moving…. THE GATES WEREN'T MOVEING! Oh no they were locked!

Ryou had no choice put go around the park. When Ryou turned to go round though, a dagger flew past a mere inch away from the angel's face, and into the tree besides the park gates. Ryou of course was in shock, and nearly fell backwards at the though of how close that dagger was to going through his face. He didn't get the chance to dwell on what was happening though, as his body was quickly, and roughly, pushed against the large park gates, with a lot more force than needed.

Ryou let out a small shout of pain, as he felt his back slam into the gates. He was almost certain that there were going be some bruises. His shout of pain quickly turned into a shout of surprise though, when he saw his attacker. It was amazing how much alike they looked, but everything about this man just screamed evil, the exact opposite to Ryou.

He was snapped out of his thoughts however, when the older teen grabbed both of his wrists with one hand, and held them above his head, pressing them ruthlessly against the bars. The brown eyed angel winced from the pressure on his poor wrists. The older teen then pulled the dagger out of the tree with his free hand, and pressed it gently against Ryou's neck. Needles to say that Ryou was terrified, he was positive that this guy was to try and kill him.

"Don't run away from me again. Understand?" Bakura said in a low threatening growl.

Ryou didn't dare try to nod his head, in case it caused the end of that dagger to pierce his skin.

"Y-yes." The angel whispered out, just barley audible, fear plainly visible in his soft chocolate brown eyes. Bakura noticed this, and was thrilled to know that he was the cause of such fear, in such innocent eyes.

Bakura smirked, and brought his face in closer to the boy's. This intimidating move was undoubtedly successful, as the white haired boy started to shake in alarm. The dagger still resting happily against his victims neck.

"Are you scared human?" The demon whispered into Ryou's ear, his lips brushing against the angels soft milky skin.

Ryou had tears in his eyes, he was so scared, and he was certain he was going to die, but what upset him the most was that he failed in getting help for his friends. He could only hope that Malik had saved Yugi, and that they were now both safe.

"Yes." Ryou sobbed out, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

The demon smirked again, and lightly dragged his moist tongue up the side of his slave's delicate white neck. Another held back sob could be heard as Ryou tried his hardies to be brave, and not give this man the satisfaction of seeing him cry or beg. Unexpectedly though Ryou felt a snake like object slither up his side. It was then that he noticed the tail, and realised that this person certainly wasn't human, but in fact a demon.

"Good." The demon whispered again, and before Ryou even could even scream, Bakura had put is dagger away, pulled down one of his arms, and pressed his stinger into it, injecting the poison.

Ryou fell seeming lifeless in Bakura's arms. Said demon then picked Ryou up bridal style, and made his way back to the alleyway, to get his brother and the other two humans. The entire way Bakura had a proud smirk on his face, as he held his prize possessively in his arms.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you think? Crap? Good? Ok? Please review! It will encourage me to write more! If you want me to I mean. ;


	4. Chapter 4

-1Thanks to my reviewers: **Poenalime, ****beldara, ****Charred, ****bakura240, ****wild4rose7cool**

**Chapter 4**

Yami, the oldest of his brothers, and one of the three rulers of Hell, was sitting contently in the library, reading one of the many books that were shelved along the walls in the castle.

"Yami." A cold and serious voice spoke.

Yami looked up from his book to see a tall slim man, with short neat brown hair, and icy blue eyes.

"I didn't hear you come in Seto. What is it?"

"The two imbeciles you call brothers have gone missing from the castle again."

Normally if one of the rulers were insulted in such away, especially when one of the brothers were present, the person would be sentenced to either being locked in a cell for life, where they can slowly die from starvation. Or they get a date with Marik and Bakura at a public torture show. Seto however was an exception. He was treated like part of the family, as though he was another brother. Although his actual role in the castle was healing, spell casting, and dealing with some finance issues. He often spent his time making potions, and ordering people about. Though he is also often found braking arguments up between the three brothers. Needless to say the rulers wouldn't last long without him.

Yami simply rolled his eyes and went back to his book.

"Good. Maybe they won't come back this time." Yami replied simply.

"Normally I would agree with you, but a guard has said that they were spotted going outside the gates of Hell." Seto calmly answered back.

"WHAT?" Yami jumped to his feet, his book now on the floor, completely forgotten.

Seto didn't so much as blink at Yami's suddenly outburst. He expected it, and when you live with Bakura and Marik there's not a lot that can take you by surprise.

Why would they leave Hell? It doesn't make any sense, they've never done this before!"

Yami began to pace back and forth from the blue eyes demon, deep in though, and with a nervous expression on his face, as though if he didn't figure the answer out soon, life everywhere would stop. Seto simply stood there, watching the ruler tiredly.

"Unless…" Yami's pacing came to a halt, and his eyes went wide in realisation. "They went to start a war with the angels! Seto order the soldiers to get ready!"

Ignoring his command, Seto instead tried to talk reasonably. "Why would they start a war with the angels?"

"Because when I saw those two Bakkas this morning, they were both bored!" This may sound like a pathetic excuse to some, but in reality the excuse was more than acceptable. In fact, many demons wouldn't have been at all surprised if their two rulers decided to declare war one day, for the sake of entertainment.

"It's possible," the taller demon stated "but I doubt it. If their intention was to start a war, then with their….talents, it would only take a second for them to start it, but the servants have already been searching for them for a whole hour already."

The ruby eyed demon raised his eyebrows in confusion at Seto, and then fell back into his chair once more. "But why then?…"

"I'm afraid I don't know." Seto replied simply.

"Ugh." Yami slouched over in the chair, resting his head in his hands, already looking worn out. "Seto my headache has started to come back again, do you-"

The rulers question was pointless, since when he looked up to face Seto, the blue eyed demon was already holding out a small green potion bottle, in front of his commanders face.

"I started carrying spare ones with me, since your headaches seem to be quite frequent."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we-"

"NO!" Bakura yelled, finally losing his temper at his older brothers stupid questions. "You know how far away Hell is from here, so stop asking!"

Marik had to hide his laughter at his sibling's outburst. Of course he knew how far they were from the castle, but he just loved to set 'little Kura' off. It was just too easy!

At the moment the two brothers were walking through a type of wasteland terrain, that eventually lead to the gates of Hell, and away from the demon's portal that the two rulers previously used. Bakura was still holding the innocent brown eyed 'human' bridal style, and Marik was holding his blond haired 'kitten', the same way you would hold a small child. His head resting on the demons shoulder, with Marik's tail rapped loosely around his waist to keep him pressed up against his chest, and tanned arms hooked below him to keep the boy's legs up. Yugi was held above the ground behind the demons, with Bakura's tail rapped securely around his small frame.

Normally the demons would fly to Hell in order to save time, but because of the cargo they were carrying, they didn't want to risk them being dropped. Witch in Marik's case, is what undoubtedly would happen, since he kept burying his face into the violet eyed boy's hair, or nuzzle his nose into the side of his neck, seemingly addicted to his new slaves spicy scent. His concentration didn't seem to be up for flying. Bakura was in the same situation, although he wasn't showing open signs of affection to his slave like Marik was, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off that angelic face.

All three angels still had their eyes closed, bodies limp, and minds sleeping, completely unaware of their current situation.

After not too long though, the demons had passed through Hells gates, and entered their kingdom, and were walking through the market to get to the castle. Demons that were in the market quickly moved out of their leaders way, some in fear of what would happen if they didn't move, and others out of respect, all eyeing the prisoners in their arms as they did. When they reached the castle entrance, the guards lowered their weapons, bowed, and then proceeded to open the castle doors. Through all this Marik and Bakura had paid little attention.

Once they stepped inside the large hall that greeted those who entered the castle, the rulers ears head a small crash. Both brothers heads snapped up at the crash, and saw one of their many demon servants run out of the room, a bucket of soapy water, and a cloth now left on the floor, along with the servants shouts of, "Lord Yami! Lord Yami! Your brothers have returned!" The shouts got quieter as the servant ran to find the oldest brother.

Bakura just rolled his eyes in annoyance, where as Marik instead just completely ignored it.

"Are we going to give Yami his present now Bakura?" Marik asked. Bakura just gave a grunt in response. He almost forgot about the kid his was holding behind him.

Both demons went to find their older brother, and eventually found him in the Library with Seto, and the servant from the hall. Their presence was quickly noticed, and before Marik or Bakura could get one word out, Yami's furious voice was heard.

"What in the devils name were you two thinking! Why did you two leave Hell? Where did you both go! How-" A dagger whizzed past Yami's head, sufficiently shutting him up. Yami's eyes landed on Bakura. How did he do that? He had no hands free since he was holding….wait who was he holding? And who was Marik holding?

"Now that you've shut up-"

"Me and Kura got you a present!" Marik rudely interrupted his younger brother.

"A present?…" Yami asked suspiciously, he wasn't about to fall for another one of his brothers tricks. The servant quickly bowed, and rushed out of the room. Followed by Seto who was in no mood split the three brothers up from another argument.

Bakura didn't say anything, but Marik nodded eagerly. "Show him Bakura." The tanned brother said excitedly.

Bakura then brought his tail out to the side that held onto their smaller victim, and at that moment Yami's heart stopped. The boy wrapped in his younger brothers tail looked so much like him, except everything about this boy seemed more…pure, like his very being was light and innocence. He was smaller than the oldest ruler, and didn't have any blonde bangs shooting up in his hair, only the ones that fell to the side of his eyes. His eyes… Yami wondered what colour the boy's eyes were. Surely they weren't the same as his crimson red orbs, that resembled pools of blood? No, they would be something that matched the way he looked. Maybe a light sparkling blue? Or-

"Well do you want him or not?" Bakura asked gruffly, successfully ruining Yami's thoughts. "Because if not me and Marik can just use him as food. That or a dart board. My aim is always a little off when I use my daggers, as it seems I keep missing the persons head when it's used as the target."

Yami clenched his fists at his younger brother's words. "You will do no such thing Bakura. Give him to me." Yami seethed out.

Bakura shrugged, and with a simple flick of his tail, Yugi was thrown into the air towards Yami, who easily caught him.

"So you both went to Earth I assume?" Yami began, while holding the boy in his arms. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious enough for you yet?" Bakura said spitefully.

"You said we couldn't have anymore slaves." Marik clarified with a pout.

"That doesn't mean you can just walk onto Earth, and snatch the first human you come across!" The oldest ruler argued. "If an angel caught you-"

"We would have ripped it apart, limb from limb." Bakura cut in, with a sadistic smirk on his face. "So stop getting all pissy on us. There wasn't an angel in sight."

Yami growled something back about his brothers responsibility's of being rulers, and soon a whole argument started. However the poison in Yugi's system had now just about worn off, and at the feeling of being moved, as well as all the yelling, he soon started to stir. All three demons stopped their shouting, when they heard a small tiered yawn.

"Ryou? Malik?" Yugi's sleepy voice called, as he still wasn't fully awake, and still had his eyes closed. When he tried to turn over though, in what he though was his bed, he found himself held in place in someone's arms. This caused him to open his eyes. At first he thought his two friends were playing a prank on him, and just put a mirror in front of his face. But when he saw his reflection blink down at him, and noticed the red eyes, the angel screamed in fright. Memories of the alleyway suddenly rushing back.

Well Yami got the answer to the 'what colour are his eyes?' question. However the ruler was frozen on the spot not knowing at all what to say to the small boy.

"Ryou! Malik!" Yugi said again, but a lot more urgently, and now fully awake.

"Five more minutes Yugi." Malik's tiered voice replied, snuggling closer to Marik's heat, as the demon held him, and moving his head slightly to get more comfortable on the demon's shoulder.

Marik smirked seeing his kittens neck fully exposed, and immediately started trailing light kisses up from the boy's shoulder, and along his slender bronze neck. Malik giggled softly, thinking that his friends were tickling him, in an attempt to wake him up.

"Guys I don't want to wake up yet, give me five more minutes." Malik said softly, still half asleep.

"If that's what kitten wants then I will let him sleep."

Well that voice defiantly brought Malik back to reality. Upon realising that the same demon that poisoned him was holding him, Malik instantly screamed and started to push the demon away from him.

"I though I told you to let me go?" Malik shouted as though they never left the alley.

"And I said no." Marik replied stubbornly.

"What's with all the shouting?" A sleepy Ryou said from Bakura's arms. His hands in small fists as he rubbed his eyes. "Guys I just had the scariest dream."

"Did it involve a demon and a dagger?" Bakura whispered evilly into Ryou's ear.

When hearing the voice of his tormenter from his dream, the angel hurriedly moved his hands away from his eyes, to see the very thing that haunted him in his nightmare. Bakura could see what was going to happen next, and smirked triumphantly, when hearing his new slave's beautiful scream.

Hearing the scream, Malik finally registered that his two friends were in the same room. Ceasing his struggles for a split second, Malik whipped his head to the side to see his two friends in the same predicament as himself.

"I won't let you hurt them!" The copper skinned angel screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Kitten doesn't need to be so mad, I won't hurt you." Marik said, hoping to calm him down.

"But I will." The dark brown eyed demon said. "Marik shut your cat thing up, or I'll shut him up for you." The demon added coldly. He really didn't like disobedient slaves. He didn't have the patience to train them. Although, they were fun to torture… Bakura looked back down at his own slave, and stared straight into those terrified wide eyes. He couldn't see this human being very troublesome at least.

Suddenly though, Bakura heard a pained yelp, and looked up from Ryou to see his purple eyed brother bent over, with his hands between his legs. Seems as though Marik's cat had managed to give his master a good kick in the place where no male should be kicked. Bakura would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't see the slave that did it. When he looked over to Yami, who still seemed frozen, he noticed that the short kid had also disappeared, and that his older brother just had his arms out, as though holding thin air.

Since when did that happen?….wait did the human he was holding just get lighter? When Bakura looked down however…

"WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GO?" Bakura yelled in a mix of anger and disbelief.

Finally Yami snapped out of his frozen shock, when he heard the Library door being slammed closed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Run faster you two!" Malik shouted over his shoulder as he ran down one of the castles hallways, dragging Ryou and Yugi behind him by their wrists. Both Ryou and Yugi did what they were told, and ran as fast as they possibly could.

No way was Malik going to let those demons get his friends. Yugi and Ryou were like his family, they were the most important people in his life, and he wasn't about to see them get hurt. Or the most likely assumption, killed. It wasn't something Malik wanted to think about, but if the three demons knew they were all angels, then that's exactly what would happen.

Suddenly though Malik was pulled back, causing him to fall backwards with a thud. Malik looked up to see Ryou staring at something with a petrified expression on his face. Yugi was on the floor next to Malik, rubbing the back of his head from where he fell.

"Ryou this isn't the time, we've got to get moving!" Malik said urgently.

Ryou didn't say a word, he didn't even acknowledge that he heard anything, only stared out of the window they were previously about to pass.

"Ryou?" Yugi asked worriedly, as he got up to join the angel in whatever he was looking at.

Confused at Ryou's behaviour, Malik stood up to stand beside Ryou and Yugi to see what they were looking at. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Outside that window the three angels could see hundreds of demons. Young and old, male and female, fat and thin, tall and short, all walking past the castle they were being held captive in. They even saw some demons dragging humans along by chains, like a master taking his dog for a walk. Behind them was a massive market, the one the angels saw on Earth seemed like nothing compared to the one they were looking at now. Surrounding the market place, were thousands of huts, obviously used as the demons homes. It was all so big, but there were no trees, no grass…not a flower in sight. There wasn't even a proper sky, just a bunch of dark swirling colours.

"Oh… my God…" Ryou finally managed say aloud, but with great difficulty, as though he didn't believe what he was seeing.

The angels were hoping that they were still on Earth, but after seeing this, it was more than obvious that they weren't. And if they weren't in Heaven, and they weren't on Earth, then that only left one other place….

"They've taken us to Hell." Yugi whispered out, but as soon as the sentence left his mouth, tears fell from his eyes, and the full force of his words shattering his heart. The small angel slowly fell to the floor, as he silently cried, not only for him and his friends, but for the many humans that had been forced into slavery.

Ryou fell to his knees beside Yugi, and took his friend into his arms, giving what little comfort he could. The teary eyed boy gladly accepted this, and held onto Ryou like a lifeline, while continuing to cry into his friend's chest.

Malik however was angry.

"How dare they." The blonde haired angel spat out. "It's one of the biggest sins you can commit. Trapping an angel in Hell." Though in truth he doubted that the demons even cared.

"I don't think they know we're angels." Ryou's soft voice said from the floor.

"What?" Malik said, much too harshly then he meant to.

"The demon that looks like me called me human." Ryou held Yugi a little tighter at the memory of what happened at the park gates on Earth. "His exact words were, 'Are you scared human?'… They don't know that we're angels."

Malik felt ashamed. It was clear that his friends were already suffering, and the demons hadn't really done anything to them yet. It was all his fault. If he hadn't had wanted to find the truth about those rumours so badly, then all three of them would still be in Heaven, happy and content. Well he got the answer to whether the rumours were true… but that offered absolutely no comfort at all. What was he suppose to do now? Even if they escaped from the castle there was still all the demons outside that could easily stop them… but he couldn't give up, he had to at least try and keep his friends safe.

"Guys we've wasted to much time already," Malik started "we have to go."

The other two angels nodded in agreement, but then jumped in surprise when they heard footsteps. The angels panicked, and before they could do anything, a tall blue eyed demon was standing not to far away from them, looking at them with a stone expression on his face.

"Get out of our way." Malik began, not quite sure what to say. This guy wasn't one of the demons that brought them here, but he was blocking them from running any further.

The demon didn't budge. Instead he brought his right hand out in front of him, fingers spread, and palm facing the now confused angels.

"What is he doing?" Yugi whispered to his friends.

"I don't know." Ryou replied.

The blue eyed demon muttered something under his breath, and all of a sudden, rays of white light burst from his hand. The lights zoomed around the angels once, before forming solid bars that reached up to the ceiling, successfully trapping the angels in a circular cage.

Ok so they weren't expecting that…

"Please, you've got to let us out!" Yugi pleaded to the demon, as he gripped one of the bars.

Ignoring the plea, Seto instead clicked his fingers, which somehow caused a small black portal from the ceiling to appear. Three figures immediately fell out of it, and crashed into a pile on the floor.

"Seto you idiot! Can't you just shout us if you want us?" A furious Bakura yelled from the floor on top of Marik.

Yami simply growled in annoyance, and tried to get off of his two brothers.

"Yeah! We were busy looking for- KITTEN!" Marik shouted happily as he saw Malik in the cage, and pushed himself up from the floor, making his two brothers fall off him. He then ran over to the bars.

"I found your pets running around the castle. Keep a better eye on them next time." And with that said, Seto just continued to walk down the hallway as though nothing happened.

Marik easily bent the bars, reached into the cage, grabbed Malik, and pulled him out. It happened so fast, that poor Malik didn't even get the chance to move away.

Bakura however was not very happy, and Ryou could clearly see that. The pale skinned demon was staring at his slave with no expression on his face, and that was why the chocolate eyed angel was worried. Ryou hadn't know him long, but what he did know was that the demon wasn't a calm person, he always seemed to be angry and spiteful, his behaviour now was even more unnerving.

Yami knew what was going to happen, and quickly pulled Yugi out of the cage so he wasn't in Bakura's firing range.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poor Ryou! Bakura must be really mad with him huh? Well what do you all think? Sorry if nothing exciting happened, but this chapter needed to be done. Also do you want a lemon in this story? I've never wrote one before, but I could give it ago. If not I can just give you the rough idea of what they did… Well review and let me know!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to my reviewers, you guys are great: bakura240, Poenalime, Roguex1979, Kyo lover with little sanity, FanFicFanGurl101

FanFicFanGurl101: Seto and Jou? Well I'm still not sure… but I'll see what I can do J

Roguex1979: Well I made Yami a little darker… but I couldn't get him to rape Yugi L bows head in shame sorry!

**Chapter 5**

Ryou didn't know what to do, he was just rooted in place by the demon's eyes. He wanted to run, hide, move out of the demons line of vision, but he couldn't. The angel was stuck, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Marik didn't seem to be taking much notice of his brother's attitude, too happy about the fact he got his cute slave back.

"Time for us to go to bed kitten." Marik said excitedly, and threw Malik over his shoulder, as he started walking down the hallway.

Malik didn't like how excited the demon sounded when he said that. The boy actually felt a little scared by it, though he wouldn't allow it to show.

"Like Hell am I sleeping in the same bed as you!" The violet eyed angel said outraged, as he pounded his fists into the demon's back, but not before shouting one last thing to the two demons they were walking away from.

"And if you two so much as touch my friends, I swear you'll pay!"

The warning however fell on deaf ears, and Malik and Marik quickly disappeared from sight.

Yami bowed his head slightly, his bangs falling over his eyes, as he suddenly gripped Yugi's wrist.

Yugi squeaked in surprise, and instantly tried to pull free.

"L-let me go." Yugi tried weakly, but with no success. Yami's grip stayed firm, and he began to drag the small boy away.

"Stop! Let go of me, my friends are in trouble, you have to let go!" Yugi knew that saying this to a demon wouldn't mean much, if anything at all, but he had to try!

It didn't work.

Bakura and Ryou were now left in the hallway alone, and Ryou was becoming more nervous by the second, he could feel himself shaking.

"Didn't I tell you," Bakura began, as he slowly made his way over to Ryou in the cage, his voice eerily calm and dark "That you were not to run away from me again?"

Ryou didn't know what to say, and was having great difficulty in pushing words from his lips, in fear that he might say something to anger the demon further.

"Well?" Bakura asked again, as he now stood before the human, a mere inch from his face. The once expressionless appearance faulted slightly, and because of that Ryou saw something in the demon's eyes that he didn't want to see.

"I-" Ryou tried, but before he could get a sentence out, he was backhanded across the face. The sound of flesh smacking against flesh echoed down the hallway, along with the brown eyed angel's pain filled shout, and then finally a thud as he fell to the floor.

-------(Flashback)------

"Gees Ryou your such a wimp!" A large teenaged boy, twice the size of Ryou said tauntingly, as he laughed at the boy he hit across the face, and now laid on the floor, bruised and bleeding. "I didn't even hit you that hard, and you already look like shit!"

Snickering could be heard all around him, as other teenagers from Ryou's school surrounded him, stopping any chance of escape the white haired boy may have had.

"Hey Greg, did you bring your knife?" The large boy shouted to one of his friends.

-----(End flashback)----

Ryou touched his right cheek, and immediately pulled back when he felt a numb stinging sensation. Why did that scene suddenly pop into his head? He didn't even know those people… did he?

Ryou didn't have time to dwell on it though, as Bakura grabbed him by his hair, and yanked him to his feet. Tears leaked from the poor boy's eyes as he was slammed into the cage bars, emitting yet another scream of pain.

Bakura smirked at the sound.

"A slave must be punished for disobeying their Master." Bakura stated sadistically, still not releasing his grip on his slave's hair, and rapping his tail around Ryou's middle to trap his arms by his side, and then lifting Ryou with ease in the air, so that his feet hovered above the ground. Bakura could literally pull Ryou's hair off strand by strand, and the boy wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him.

Ryou whimpered as more tears fell, the tail around him slowly tightening, like a snake chocking it's victim, before engulfing it whole.

"I think," Bakura started again as he watched the tears roll down Ryou's cheeks "that my brother had the right idea."

Ryou's whimpering stopped when he heard that. The tears however did not, as he stared into his tormenters eyes, horror struck. In his mind he was begging to God that he heard wrong, but the look on the demon's face told him otherwise.

"Time for bed."

And with that said, Bakura let go of his teary eyed slave's hair, and proceeded to walk to his room, carrying what he though was a human behind him with his tail. Bakura licked his lips in anticipation. He was going to enjoy this… he was going to enjoy this very much...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marik made his way to his bedroom door, carrying a reluctant Malik the entire way. Unfortunately for Malik, his pounding, kicking, and accessional cussing, didn't seem to effect his older twin at all.

"WHAT PART OF LET ME GO, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" Malik yelled in frustration. It felt like he was talking to a brick wall! Lord knows how many times he had said that sentence to the demon, but not once did the psycho take any notice of it! Malik might has well have been talking in a different language.

Once Marik had finally made it to his room, he kicked open the door, and threw Malik onto his king size bed, complete with dark lavender, silk covers. However, Malik instantly jumped off the bed, and away from Marik, as the demon slammed the door shut again, making sure it was locked, and destroying any type of escape attempt Malik could muster.

The now seemingly doomed angel was staring at a lustful demon with a crazed look in his eyes, and a large playful grin on his face. Malik unconsciously took a step back at the sight. There was nowhere he could run off to, no chance of escape, and the odds of him knocking this guy unconscious were zero to none… This wasn't good…

Although Malik was somewhat frightened of the predicament he was in, Marik certainly wasn't.

"I've already told you that you don't need to be scared my kitten. I promise not to hurt you." The tanned demon said has he took a step forward, causing the angel to take another step back, while watching the demon's every movement. "I'll make sure you enjoy it."

That statement made Malik's eyes goes wide. Did this lunatic have any idea what he was saying?… And was the demon … smirking? What happened to that annoying childish grin? The demon was really serious… HELL. NO.

"Touch me and I'll brake your arm." Malik growled out threateningly, hoping that he successfully masked his fear to the creature who was staring at him.

Marik shook his head at his slave, as though disappointed, but nevertheless still expecting the reply at the same time.

"That stubbornness of yours kitten is-"

"And stop calling me kitten! Do I look like some fur ball to you!" Malik was starting to understand how annoying it must be for Jou every time he called him a dog…

"But you do remind me of a kitten." Marik said. "Like when you were in line in front of that van, and you suddenly turned round and grabbed mini-Kura. You looked like a kitten that just put it's paw in water for the first time." The demon smiled at the memory. His kitten looked so surprised and scared…. simply adorable!

Malik blinked. How long had these demons been watching them? Ryou said that they didn't know they were angels, but what if they saw him and his friends summoning the disappearance of their wings behind that building? From the example in the alleyway, it would have been easy for the two demons to watch them in the shadows… but if they did know, then why haven't they already killed them? Demons hate angels, Ryou, Yugi and himself should have been killed on the spot… Did this guy know who he really was?

Pushing that thought aside, and relying on Ryou's word for the time being, Malik went back to the matter at hand.

"Well I'm not a cat, so stop calling me one! I have a name you know!"

Marik pouted at the his slave's outburst to the adorable nickname, but didn't argue back.

"And what is your name kitten?"

Damn it, it really was like talking to a brick wall! Didn't this guy take any notice of what he just said?

"I told you not to call me that! And my name is M-" Malik stopped himself in hesitation. Did he really want a demon, an angels sworn enemy, to know his name? That can't be safe right? Then again how can this situation get anymore dangerous?

"Is it Malik?" The sandy blonde haired demon asked suddenly.

Malik's eyes widened slightly at the question, which proved to Marik that his guess was correct.

"How-" But before the angel could ask the question, Marik answered it for him.

"Mini-Yami was shouting for Ryou and Malik when he woke up." Marik said simply, as he made a move towards his stubborn slave standing at the other side of his bed.

"Don't come any closer!" Malik said in slight panic, his voice determined to get through the demons thick skull, and finally listen to him.

Apparently it worked, and the demon stopped at the end of his bed. If Malik wanted to get away from the demon now, he would have to risk jumping over the bed to get to the other side of the room.

Marik put on his famous playful grin. You know, like the one you see on a toddler playing in the sandpit, building sand castles, and digging holes happily….. to burying a body, and hide the murder weapon he used.

"Malik-pretty is still scared." Marik pointed out.

"I am not scared! But I am freaked out at being locked in a room with a demon who wants to rape me!"

Marik tutted and shook his head, then moved the rest of his way to Malik. Malik seeing this, tried to leap over the bed, and get as far away as he could from the tanned psycho. His attempt was in vain however, as Marik grabbed his ankle, forcing his victim to fall onto soft, silky sheets.

There was no denying that Malik was scared now, and he tried desperately to pull his ankle free, and run. Maybe he could jump out a window or something? He didn't care if he was high up, anything was better than staying in the same room with this demon rapist!

Marik however seemed to have other plans, and flipped his slave over so he was on his back. He then quickly pressed his body on top of his smaller look alike, and pinned his wrists to the side of his head. Malik was now completely at his Master's mercy, and his heart was beating rapidly.

"You are scared Malik-pretty." Marik said in a low whisper, as he brought his face closer to the violet eyed boy beneath him, so that their noses were lightly touching. "But you shouldn't be." He said again, and gently kissed Malik's cheek, and giving it a small affectionate nuzzle, before moving up to his ear. "You will like it, I promise."

Malik at this point had his eyes closed, and was holding back tears. 'This isn't happening' was played over repeatedly in his head like a broken record. The demons words didn't make Malik feel any better, if anything it made his fear worse.

This didn't go unnoticed by Marik but he was determined to go through with it. He wasn't even sure why the thought of himself touching his precious kitten made Malik so frightened. He just wanted to show his Malik-pretty how much he liked him, and he thought this was the perfect way.

Marik brought his slaves hands above his head, and grasped both wrists into one hand. The other hand slowly making it's way downwards, caressing whatever flesh visible, until his hand reached the boys shirt. The shirt was disposed of in a matter of seconds.

-----(Flashback)-----

"I'm home!" A teenager with darkish skin, and sandy blonde hair shouted into the small apartment, as he hung up his coat.

"STOP IT!" A feminine voice cried out in panic, from the other room, followed by a crash.

"Be quiet!" A slurred and drunken voice replied.

"Isis!" The boy rushed into the living room to see a young woman on the floor, trapped under a much older mans body. Her blouse was torn, and her left cheek was bruised.

-----(End flashback)-----

The angel tried to twist away from Marik's caresses and touches, tried to save himself and his virginity, but Marik managed to put a stop to it all. The demon's body weight kept Malik in place, and Marik's lustful yet determined eyes showed Malik what would happen, whether he like it or not. The angels once cocky, angry, and brave attitude had disappeared.

Malik gasped in surprise and dread, when feeling a warm mouth on his chest, and a gentle nip to one of his sensitive nubs, followed by a tongue to sooth it. His other nipple was given the same treatment, with the same amount of care, while gentle caresses were placed along the angels sides and chest, in an attempt to calm his nerves.

Which of course it did not. Malik still had his eyes squeezed tightly shut, afraid that if he did open them, he would see something he didn't want to. Tears now threatening to fall, but he held them back.

"Stop." Malik whispered pleadingly, so upset that he couldn't seem to find his voice, therefore he found it impossible to shout.

Marik did not stop, but instead kissed down Malik's beautiful tanned stomach, and only paused when he reached the second piece of clothing that was in his way. With two sharp tugs, both Malik's trousers and boxers were gone, leaving the angel completely bare.

"No, stop, I'm telling you to stop!" Malik said again, this time a little louder, as he shook his head fiercely, and squirmed in Marik's grip. He didn't even notice the amount of missing clothes on his Master's body at that point, nor on his own body. He did however feel something warm and wet engulf his member. At this Malik couldn't help letting out an unwanted moan, and a few unwanted tears.

Marik swirled his tongue around the head, and rubbed his tongue along Malik's length, lightly first, but gradually harder. Pleasure coursed through the angels entire body…and he hated it.

The demon bobbed his head up and down, and hummed in the back of his throat. The boy cried out and moaned in shamed pleasure, but at the same time begged for the demon to stop, but he didn't, instead he felt a finger being pushed into his tight virgin hole, and then another, and another, stretching the tight muscle, making the tanned slave hiss in pain. The mouth around his length disappeared, and Malik almost thought that the demon was going to stop and leave him alone, until he felt his hands tied together in a soft scarf, and his legs being lifted over his Master's shoulders, and then held in place. Something large was pressed against his entrance. And then with one quick movement, and a scream full of pain, the large object was berried deep inside of him.

Eventually, after what seemed like endless thrusts to Malik, accompanied by pain mixed with pleasure sensations, and then a large amount of pressure being released by both participants, it was over…

Malik finally let all his tears fall, as he could no longer hold them back, Marik panted heavily, as he fell to Malik's side, feeling out of breath, and sweat rolled down both of their naked bodies. The now no longer a virgin boy, was pulled into a muscular chest, and arms were wrapped protectively around him. The demon gently kissed each of Malik's closed eyelids, tasting his salty tears, and then finally his lips.

If Malik had any strength left, he would have carried on struggling, but he didn't, so he couldn't. Now Malik just laid there with a sleeping demon, feeling defeated, broken, and soiled.

An angel was robbed of his innocence that night. Sadly though, he wasn't the only one.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door to Bakura's room swung open, and slammed against the opposite wall, allowing a white haired demon to enter the room, along with a misfortunate angel.

"Tell me little-Ryou, do you like my room?" The demon sneered to the one still caught in his tail.

Ryou nearly considered asking the demon how he knew his name, the key word being _nearly _since he was still terrified of saying anything to the older look alike, but when he actually took notice of the room, he realised why the demon would point it out to him. A variety of weapons were hung on the left wall, with many different swords, maces, daggers, and whips. A chain hanged from the ceiling, and shackles were seen attached to the bed's head board. Not to mention the blood spatter on the walls and floor, most of it seen around the bed.

The poor angel began to tremble. He was going to die, there was no doubt about it. This demon was going to kill him, and the creature was going to have fun doing it to. All those weapons… he couldn't bare thinking about it.

Bakura felt the tremors from the shaking body, and smirked eagerly. "I'll take that as a yes." He then noticed his slave's eyes linger on one of the walls. Bakura's smirk grew. "Beautiful aren't they?" Bakura continued talking about his 'torture devises', as he moved Ryou to the side and closed the door with his foot. "The whips would have to be my favourite. You can hit the skin many times without causing any blood loss, and still leave an almost unbearable sting. It makes the fun last so much longer, you just have to make sure the person doesn't pass out from pain."

A quiet click was heard as Bakura locked the door, causing Ryou's heart beat to pound faster, if the demon wasn't going to kill him first, then a heart attack surely would. Bakura flicked his tail forward, and Ryou unravelled, letting out a small squeak as he tumbled to the floor.

"But this comes in as a close second."

The angel looked up to see his future killer taking a dagger/knife thing from the wall, then stared at it intently, as though the demon was talking to the lifeless, yet dangerous object. Ryou immediately started to scrabble away so he was closer to the door.

"It's called a Kris. A traditional weapon in South-East Asia from Earth." Bakura looked up and saw his slave's petrified form pressed against the door. The ruler's eyes gleamed sadistically, and made his way towards Ryou, who tried to press himself more into the wooden panels that blocked him from fleeing out of the room. The young ruler almost laughed at such a pathetic attempt of escape. He then crouched down in front of his victim, who quickly closed his eyes, and raised the blade to Ryou's throat. The angel flinched when feeling Bakura's breath against his right ear.

"Perfect for slitting throats." Ryou's tormentor whispered sinisterly.

"P-please… don't, please." Ryou whispered back, his face wet from tears.

There was a pause, and silence was the only thing the chocolate eyed angel could hear. The breath against his ear was gone, and he felt the knife against his neck removed. Maybe… maybe the demon was letting him go?

"I won't kill you Ryou."

"…Y-you won't?" Ryou asked confused, but also relieved. He was just about to open his eyes again, when he suddenly felt cold steel touching his pale cheek, as it slowly started to stroke the side of his face.

"No Ryou I won't, at least not yet anyway. After all," Bakura made a quick slash down the boy's chest, swiftly cutting through the boy's blue and white striped shirt, to reveal creamy white skin "we still have the matter of your punishment to deal with. What would be the fun in killing you now?"

Ryou was back to the heart attack stage again. He couldn't think straight, and before he knew it, he was pulled away from the door, and chained to the wall. His arms were held out to the side, and his wrists were clasped in shackles. His legs however were free. Not that he could go running off anywhere anyway, but it did force him to stand up.

The prisoner tried to pull his hands free, but it was no use.

"I beg of you, please don't do this!" Ryou shouted to his master, in a last attempt of gaining freedom from the undeserved punishment.

The plea for mercy however only got on Bakura's nerves.

"Shut up!"

Another slash with the Kris knife, and the angel's trousers were in shreds. The only piece of clothing left on Ryou's body were powder blue boxers. Milky white legs could now be seen, along with the creamy white chest and rosy nipples. The pale skinned demon was getting hard at such a delicious sight. And it was all his to play with.

The bulge in Bakura's tight leather pants, was extremely noticeable, and at that moment Ryou knew this wasn't going to be a simple beating. The angel gasped in realisation, as the demon pulled down his boxers.

"Such a beautiful creature aren't you?" Bakura said darkly, as he began to stroke Ryou's slowly awaking arousal.

"Y-you can't! Please! You c-can't!" Ryou said desperately, as he bit back a moan.

The demon smirked. "Why not? Seems like your enjoying it to me."

"I'm not! Please!" He didn't think anyone deserved this, and the thought of what would eventually happen next, made his vision go blurry, as his eyes clouded with tears. He was surprised that he had anymore tears left to shed…

"You have to st- AAAH!"

Ryou's sentence was cut off, when he felt something suddenly shoved into him from behind. It hurt so much, it was impossible not to scream, though it wasn't shoved in deep. Bakura hadn't moved though, so what was inside of him?

"Does it hurt my little-Ryou?" Bakura asked in a sweet, mocking voice, as he threw the Kris blade into the side wall.

The white haired slave nodded weakly in anguish and pain.

"You wouldn't stop your pitiful begging, so I decided to stop it for you. I like hearing you scream much more anyway." The object was eased out of Ryou's entrance, and Ryou realised it was the demon's tail that was inside of him.

"Your lucky I didn't sting you from the inside." The ruler added cruelly. "Now, lets get back to the fun shall we?" He then moved his thumb over Ryou's head between the slave's legs. "I think the little interruption was enough of a preparation for you. So we'll just skip to the best part." Bakura undid his zipper.

The angel now understood why there were no shackles to trap his legs. It was because if there were, then it meant that the demon wouldn't be able to get the victims legs over his shoulders. If it wasn't for the shackles on Ryou's wrists, he would have lost balance and fallen to the floor.

Again something large was forced into Ryou's slender body, followed by an immense shriek of agony. It went deeper this time, and continued to thrust in and out, slow, but then hard and fast, causing blood to leak from Ryou's body.

Ryou shouted and cried and pain, and Bakura loved it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where are you taking me?" Yugi asked the tricolour haired demon he was being dragged behind.

The demon said nothing.

Maybe this demon couldn't talk? After all Yugi hadn't heard him say a word to anyone yet…. It would be easier to escape if the demon wasn't able to shout for anyone to stop him. Yugi just had to make sure he ran _really _fast. Plus it looked like the demon was in his own little world at the moment. He seemed very distracted.

With new found determination, Yugi yanked his wrist free from the demon's grip, and hurriedly turned round to run…. But he didn't move. Huh?

The angel looked down to see the demon's tail around his waist. Yami hadn't even turned round in attempt to run after him.

"Please don't make me sting you, when you've only just got the poison out of your system. It's not good for a human's body." Yami's tone was serious, and slightly cold. It almost reminded Yugi of the demon that trapped him and his friends in that cage.

Without waiting for a reply, Yami continued to walk on, now dragging his smaller clone by the waist behind him. Yugi from that point just stayed quiet, looking to the floor, as they made their way down the hallway.

With that taken care of, Yami went back to his thinking. What was he suppose to do with this human? All those feelings he felt when he first gazed upon the boy troubled him. It was almost as though the great ruler Yami had a crush on him. It was laughable!

…So why didn't he find it funny?…

Ugh! He does not have a crush on this human! The idea alone was humiliating enough!

Yami clenched his fists, and let out a low growl. He did not have a crush on a human, he did not have a crush on a human, he did not have a crush on a human, he-

"Ah!"

Yami snapped his head round at his slave's cry, only to see his tail crushing the small boy. He must have been holding Yugi a little tighter than he thought during his… important thinking.

"Sorry." Yami mumbled quickly, and let his tail loosen.

"T-thank y-you." Yugi replied nervously, as his took a big gulp of air.

Finally Yami reached his room. Opening the door he swung his tail to the side, and allowed Yugi to step inside. Yugi, although Yami now freed him, was hesitant in stepping into the room, and so to Yami's annoyance, he didn't move.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Yami nudged the boy forward. That little touch however, caused Yugi to panic, and he quickly scuttled forward to get away, tripping over his own two feet in doing so, and falling straight on his face. This gave Yami a perfect view of his behind… a nice behind to… That's it! What he was feeling for the kid was lust! It had to be! So all he had to do was 'sleep' with him, and he'd be over it right?

The oldest ruler made his way over to the boy, who was just pushing himself onto his hands and knees to get up from the floor. Yami smirked. A very suggestive position. Hey he was a demon after all. Just because he was the more sane one out of the three brothers, it didn't mean that he hadn't killed or raped before.

Yami bent down onto one knee behind the human, and lightly put a hand onto his hip. Yugi's shoulders instantly tensed, and his body froze. Yami's smirk grew a little bigger at seeing that. The boy seemed too scared to put up that much of a fight. It made him feel slightly relieved to, he didn't want to hurt him. Maybe he could even charm the human enough to make it a two way thing? That way it wouldn't be forced.

Yami made soothing circles with his thumb, gently massaging his slave's hip. He then brought his other hand up, and slowly trailed it down the boy's back.

"Are you ok?" Yami asked, his voice deep and lustful.

Yugi's head snapped round at the question, and upon seeing his slave's face, Yami's acts of wooing stopped. His eyes were large, watery, and fearful. Those two once bright lilac orbs, were now looking to him with such sadness, that Yami realised something unexpected…

…He couldn't do it.

Yami turned away and stood.

"Go to bed." The demon said emotionlessly.

"W-What-"

"I said go to bed." He then pointed to his four poster bed. "I won't touch you just… just go to sleep."

Yugi still wasn't sure, but he did what he was told, and climbed onto the side of the bed that was the furthest away from the demon, and laid on his side with his knees pulled up to his chest. He then forced his eyes closed, not bothering with the covers. He knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep, especially when the demon was awake, but he could at least pretend to be asleep so that the demon wouldn't be mad.

Yami just stood their and watched him. Why can't he just take him? The demon sighed.

Well this was just great…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry it took me longer than usual to update everyone! But I made this chapter longer to make it up to you all! For some reason this chapter was a little harder to write than my other one's… so I'm sorry if it seems a little rushed. Also school is starting again soon, so updating might be a little longer than it usually is. Don't worry though I'm determined to continue with the story until it's finished, just as long as I get reviews to encourage me!


	6. Chapter 6

-1Thanks to my reviewers: bakura240Roguex1979beetelgirlFanFicFanGurl101Vampirehelsingseto'swifey

Without you guys I wouldn't bother continuing.

**Chapter 6**

Light snoring reached Malik's ears, which slowly, but gradually, started to bring him out of his heavy slumber. Problem was, he really didn't want to wake up yet. Malik never was a morning person, and usually Yugi and Ryou would let him sleep in.

Letting out a silent yawn, the angel tried to turn on his side to get in a more comfortable position, and fall back into complete sleep once more. Strangely though, he couldn't move… wait… was someone hold-

Suddenly, everything that happened the previous day came rushing back to him. Sneaking out of Heaven, being captured, demons, Hell…rape. Malik wasn't sure if he wanted to open his eyes. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see the truth, instead of hoping that it was all a nightmare…. Heh. Who was he kidding? He didn't need to open his eyes to know that the demon who raped him last night, was now holding him close with a disturbing amount of care and protectiveness. Well, it was disturbing to Malik anyway.

"Malik…Malik so pretty…mine." Marik mumbled in his sleep, and held Malik a little tighter.

Malik was fuming. How dare he! How dare he hold him! Dream about him! Call him his! Just… just… JUST HOW DARE HE! He said he wouldn't hurt him, but he had! He raped him, did the demon not think that such an act would hurt him? If not physically, then mentally? Of course he did. That was probably his plan. Brake him, make his 'kitten' feel utterly useless and alone, until he misunderstood these disturbing acts of supposed _kindness_, for affection, and some kind of sick twisted love.

Malik felt discussed just being near him. He felt choked, suffocated in the demons embrace…. But he also felt something else, he didn't understand why he felt it though. Why would he feel… what was it? Comfort? From the person that caused him the pain in the first place?

This wasn't right. Malik had to get away from him.

Malik opened his eyes, and slowly started to lift the others arms off him. He tried to do this carefully, without waking the demon up.

"No… no you can't take him," Marik mumbled in his sleep again, as he tightened his grip on the body he was holding. " I'll protect you Malik-pretty…"

Malik froze.

-----(flashback)-----

A boy around the age of six, was holding onto a young girl with long ebony hair, and sun kissed skin. Both were on the floor in front of the TV, with the boy's head berried into the girl's chest, as he lightly sobbed.

"W-what i-if he comes b-back Isis?" The boy said. His words muffled against the girl's chest.

The girl had her arms safely wrapped around him, trying to give as much comfort as she could.

"Don't worry little brother, I'll make sure he doesn't come near you again." The girl said soothingly, as she rested her head on top of his. "…I'll protect you Malik…"

-----(End flashback)-----

That girl… He remembered that girl. Isis. Yes Isis was her name.… Isis was his sister? Yes… she was his older sister. He didn't care about what was going on in the flashback, or why he was crying. He was just happy that he remembered someone from his family.

And that demon helped him remember her.

The blonde angel showed a faint sad smile at the irony of having someone he would consider an enemy, to give him one of the most precious things he could ever ask for. Although he, Yugi, and Ryou had always said that their memories didn't matter, that they didn't need them, he knew they were lying. At least he was lying anyway.

Of course this didn't mean that Malik liked the demon anymore than yesterday.

"Stupid demon." Malik whispered to himself. Though the faint smile never left.

But then he remembered the other flashback from last night… He didn't want to remember that one. Then again, maybe it wasn't his sister below that man?…but he shouted 'Isis', didn't he? His sister… it looked like she was about to get raped. That thought really hurt him, like someone taking a stab at his heart.

The demon helped him to remember that one to…

"Stupid demon." Malik growled out. The smile now completely gone, and instead replaced by a bitter scowl.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------(Dream sequence)-------

The boy ran for what seemed like hours. Faster, and faster he pushed himself, his chest burning from the lack of oxygen in his lungs, but the boy refused to stop. At his side were his two friends, both panting with the same amount of exhaustion and ache, as they ran for not just their freedom, but also their lives.

Darkness surrounded them, the only light being the faint slither that shone down on the three, somehow following them with every step they took.

Suddenly the boy tripped, and collapsed to the floor.

"Yugi!" Both Malik and Ryou shouted, as they quickly turned round to pull their friend back on is feet. They would have succeeded to, if it wasn't for the two demons that grabbed them from behind. The two victims screamed, as they were dragged out of the light, and pulled into the darkness.

"No! Leave them alone!" Yugi shouted, as he tried to force his aching body to get up from the floor, tears streamed down his face.

"Bring them back!" Yugi yelled in despair, at the dark nothingness that stared at him from every angle, demanding for his two friends to be brought back to him.

"It's not fair…" A whispering voice echoed in reply to Yugi's demand.

Yugi frantically looked around for the voice that spoke back to him, but he saw no one.

"I-I miss them so much." It said again, the voice braking slightly this time, as though trying not to cry. It sounded so sad and desperate, so miserable and helpless… it should have at least caused Yugi to feel some fear, or even sympathy. Yet there was nothing.

Except denial.

That voice was his. It sounded just like him, and yet it was different to. His own voice was usually so bubbly, naïve, and cheerful, the complete opposite to this one. So that meant that it couldn't be him! It wasn't him!… and yet he remembered saying it.

It was when he was with his grandpa, mourning over his mother and fathers death. He remembered that, but he wished he didn't.

Yugi managed to weakly get himself onto his knees, as he looked to the floor in utter despair.

"Hey?… Hey are you ok? Wake up!"

Who was that? It wasn't the same voice. It wasn't his voice. This one was deeper, with a hint of… concern?

-----(End dream sequence)-----

"WAKE UP!"

Yugi yelped in surprise at the loud wake up call, and ended up tumbling off the bed. Yami looked down at him, slightly amused, but concerned at the same time.

"Sorry." The demon said a little awkwardly. "You were whimpering in your sleep…" Yami trailed off, as though wanting to say more, but not allowing himself to. "…Besides, it's time to get up now."

Yugi quickly nodded and clumsily got up from the floor, keeping his head lowered so that he didn't meet the demon's gaze. He really wanted to see Malik and Ryou, but would the demon let him?

"Em… e-excuse me, but when will I get to see my friends?" He whispered unsurely.

Yami, who was about to reply, was interrupted when hearing a knock at the door. Yugi immediately looked up. "Come in." The ruler's commanding voice said.

The door opened to reveal a short demon with messy black hair, and light purple bangs sticking out from a red hat.

"My Lord." He bowed and then continued. "I'm here to take your slave to the bathing chambers, if you will allow me to."

Yami frowned. He really didn't like Rex, he wasn't sure why, but he just didn't feel as though he could trust him. If it wasn't for the fact that they didn't have many demon servants in the castle, as well as the lack of humans thanks to Bakura and Marik, he would have fired him a long time ago.

"Yes of course." Yami said a little reluctantly. "You should see your friends when you get there-…. Em…" What was the kid's name?

"Yugi." The tricolour haired angel said shyly, as he made his way over to Rex. "Thank you." He said, grateful that he was able to see his friends again.

Yami simply nodded, and then both slave and servant left the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryou was sitting in a large pool of hot water, with his back leaning against the smooth rock edge that circled it. His body was bare, and his damp hair stuck to the side of his face, neck, and back. The room was full of steam, and had a calm and surreal feel to it. The only thing missing were the lush, green, tropical plants, but of course you didn't get them in Hell.

The shy angel had his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly, and his head resting on top of them as he wept. His body hurt from the inside, and although the water was making it feel a little better, emotionally he was still a wreck.

Suddenly he heard the door open, and he quickly sank deeper into the water.

"GET OFF! ARE ALL YOU DEMONS DEAF, OR JUST STUPID!" That sounded like Malik!

"Stop…struggling!" A voice Ryou didn't recognize said with difficulty, as two demons strolled into the room, carrying a very stubborn Malik, completely bare except for a towel wrapped around his waist, safely concealing his manhood. One demon had Malik's arms locked, and the other was tightly holding his legs.

"I'LL STOP STRUGGELING WHEN YOU BOTH GET OFF!" Malik shouted angrily.

The demon's growled, one of them already having a busted lip because of Malik's uncooperative behaviour.

"I swear if you didn't belong to Lord Marik, I'd kill you myself!" The demon holding Malik's legs said angrily, wincing every time Malik tried to pull his legs free. Looks as though Malik had also managed to give him a few good kicks in the stomach.

"I DON'T BELONG TO ANYONE! NOW FOR THE LAST TIME, GET OFF ME!"

Again the demons growled, and with one quick movement, they threw him into the pool of water that Ryou was hiding in, and quickly left the room in a very irritated manner.

Immediately Malik's head shot back up, just as the doors closed. "Bastards!" The tanned angel shouted after them.

"Malik?" A quiet voice said.

Malik's head spun round to see Ryou at the edge of the large pool like bath.

"Ryou!" Malik hurriedly swam over to his white haired friend, and quickly brought him into a hug, relieved that he was still in one piece. "They haven't hurt you have they?" He added , pulling away from his friend and giving him a thorough look over, forcing him to turn round, as he checked every inch.

"M-Malik!" Ryou said. His once pale cheeks now bright red. They were both naked after all. "I'm fine really!"

"Oh yeah?" Malik asked sceptically, as he took hold of Ryou's left arm. "Then why are your wrists bruised?"

"I-I…" What was he suppose to say? 'Oh it's ok Malik! The demon just chained me to a wall last night?' Malik was only worrying about him, but still… "I…" He couldn't say it, so he just trailed off.

"Ryou?" Malik said again, his voice that was hectic just a second ago, was now quiet and worried.

Just then the door opened again.

"Yugi!" Ryou shouted happily with a big smile, as he saw his smaller friend enter the room, hoping to distract Malik from his questioning.

"Yugi?" Malik asked confused, but then turned towards the door to see Yugi coming into the room fully clothed, with a towel in his hands.

At seeing Ryou and Malik, Yugi smiled brightly with glee, jumped into the water, and grabbed his friends into a three way hug. " Malik! Ryou! You're both ok, right?"

Malik took a quick glance at Ryou at the question, but his smile didn't falter, so he decided to drop it… for now anyway. "Of course we are Yugi!" Malik said cheerfully. He wasn't going to mention what happened to him last night either. Besides, Yugi and Ryou looked up to him, he was like their big brother. He had to be strong for them. So for now, he'd just act as though it never happened.

"You're ok as well Yugi?"

"Yeah, that demon with the red eyes didn't hurt you did he?"

The short angel shook his head. "No, he's not done anything to me."

Both Malik and Ryou sighed in relief.

"Em, you know Yugi," Ryou started, as Yugi finally released them from the hug. "Your not suppose to wear clothes when you have a bath." Yugi blushed, and Malik laughed.

Yugi gave a sheepish smile, but soon undressed.

"So who do you think they are?" Ryou asked, after a minute or so of silence as they bathed. All three of them clearly had a lot to think about.

"What do you mean? They're obviously demons." Malik answered, a little confused at Ryou's question.

"I don't mean that." Ryou explained. "What I mean is, why do you think these three are the only one's to own a massive castle in Hell? All the other demons live in tiny huts."

"Yeah, and the other demon's here called my look alike a 'Lord'." Yugi added.

"You guys don't think…" Malik said hesitantly.

"They're the three rulers of Hell?" Ryou finished the sentence for his violet eyed friend.

There was a moment of silence, and neither angel knew what to say.

"Guys…" Yugi's timid voice spoke. "We are going to get out of here aren't we? We'll make it back to Heaven?"

"…Yeah Yugi. Of course we will!" Malik said, his voice determined. "Rulers or not, they're still demons, and an angel never gives in to a demon!"

"That's right." Ryou added in reassurance. "We'll get out of here Yugi, and when we do we'll tell the elders about what they've been doing to the humans."

The lilac eyed angel nodded with a small smile on his face. He was so lucky to have friends like Malik and Ryou. They always knew exactly what to say, and managed give him the extra confidence he needed.

"Now," Malik started with a serious voice "we need to come up with an escape pla-" The angel stopped when seeing another demon enter the room, with three sets of clothes folded neatly in his arms. He put each set onto a bench, then turned to face the three confused angels.

"Your masters have ordered that you wear these clothes." He said in a bored tone of voice. "These are for Lord Marik's slave." He pointed to the clothes on the right side of the bench. "Those for Lord Yami's slave." He pointed to the clothes next to Malik's. "And these for Lord Bakura's." He pointed to he last set of clothes. "Failure to cooperate with this task will result in me and two other servants to use force. You have ten minutes." He then simply left the room.

The angels pulled themselves out of the water, and went to see just exactly what, they would be wearing.

Yugi blushed.

Ryou gasped.

And Malik practically screamed 'That creep!' loud enough for the entire castle to hear.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three rulers were sitting at, what looked like a half a mile long dining table. The room was filled with rich furnishings, and tapestries hung from the wall, along with paintings showing the many rulers before Yami, Marik, and Bakura's time.

All three rulers sat in silence, as servants came in and placed their breakfast in front of them, then straight away leaving the room. Demons and slaves alike were terrified of the three, but with Marik and Bakura's daily torture shows, you could hardly blame them.

Silence. To Yami it was pure bliss. Usually he would have to threaten his two brothers for any quiet, and even then it rarely worked.

"I'm in love." Marik said dreamily.

Bakura suddenly spat out the glass of blood he was drinking. Yami sighed, and put his head in his hands, hoping that this one simple sentence wouldn't start an argu- wait what did Marik say!

"What the hell do you mean '_I'm in love_.'" Bakura roared.

"With who?" Yami asked in a more civilized manner.

"With Malik-pretty!" Marik said enthusiastically.

"The cat?" Bakura asked.

Marik frowned. "He's not a cat, he's a kitten."

Bakura just rolled his eyes. "Same thing."

"Marik" Yami interrupted "be reasonable. For one thing you only met him yesterday."

"So?" The tanned demon asked.

"So you can't be in love with him!" Bakura clarified. "And above all else, he's a human!" He continued, as though the problem was obvious. "They're used as slaves, not lovers."

Marik pouted. "But I do love Malik-pretty! I want him to stay with me forever!"

"Well don't kill him off like you did with the other slaves, and he will." Bakura added bitterly.

"I would never hurt Malik-pretty." Marik replied with confidence.

"You're trying to tell me that you haven't fucked him yet?" Bakura said a little surprised.

"I didn't just 'fuck' him Bakura!" Marik said angrily "I-"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP, I'M EATING HERE!" Yami shouted over his brother's arguing.

The two brothers ignored him. "I held him, I kissed him, I worshiped his body, and took him with care."

"What kind of demon are you? You don't treat a slave like that! Especially not a human slave! You act as though you're both equal!"

Yami groaned. Why him? Why was he cursed to have the most irritating brothers in all of Hell? Honestly, he didn't even know why Bakura was getting so worked up about this. Marik's never been… all there, give him a week or so and the human he apparently 'loved', will probably be dead, as a result of Marik's boredom.

Actually he was surprised Bakura's slave wasn't dead already.

Just then the two dining room doors swung open, and upon seeing the three slaves, both Bakura and Marik stopped their arguing, and silence filled the room once more.

Ryou was wearing tight, white leather shorts, that barley covered his behind. He had high heeled boots that came all the way up to his knees, covered with silver buckles. His chest was bare, and was only covered with a leather vest. Along his arms were white, long sleeved gloves, again leather. Then to finish it all off he had a leather hat on, with small silver studs, similar to the hat you might see a biker wear.

Yugi was also wearing leather, though not as much as Ryou. He wore black leather pants, with two sets of chains hanging from the belt, that crossed from the back, and reattached themselves further down the legs. His top was a crimson red blouse. But what Yugi really didn't like was the chocker he was wearing. It had a small upside down cross on it, that alone made Yugi very uncomfortable.

And Malik, well…

"I'm going to kill you." Malik said angrily at Marik, his fists clenched by his sides.

Malik was wearing shorts like Ryou, except his was black, as well as a sleeveless black top that showed is stomach. He also wore black fishnet gloves, and flat heeled shoes. Not bad right? Well then, add two cat ears, a tail, and a bell to the outfit.

Malik wasn't very happy.

"Nothing I say gets through to you does it? I'm not a cat!" He said furiously.

Marik didn't say anything, but instead smirked. Malik's temper vanished, and instead turned to slight fear. That smirk reminded him so much of the smirk he saw last night, he could only imagine what was going through the demon's head.

"D-don't look at me like that!" Malik said, as he pushed his anger forward to mask his fear, silently cursing himself for stuttering.

Suddenly Marik stood, his eyes never leaving his slave's. Malik immediately took a protective stance in front of his friends. Marik, however, had no intention of doing anything to them. He was much more interested in the one guarding them.

The demon calmly walked up to his obsession, until they were only a few centimetres apart. To say that this didn't unnerve Malik would be a lie, but he stood his ground, glaring at the demon intensely. Whatever the demon was about to do to him, he was ready for it. Marik would probably grab him or something. Inside Malik smirked mischievously, just as long as there was enough room for him to lift his knee between the demon's legs, he would be fine. After all, if it worked once it can work again, right?

Bakura and Yami watched the scene with little interest, their attention instead on their two look-alikes, as they admired their outfits. The two angels didn't notice this however, too occupied in getting ready to pull Malik back if there was any sign of danger.

Marik reached out, and gently took hold of his slave's left hand, and brought it to his lips. "You look adorable, Malik-pretty." Each word caused the demon's lips to lightly brush against the back on Malik's hand, and in result, caused a shiver to run down the angel's spine. Seeing this, Marik then ended the 'gentleman' like gesture, with a soft kiss above Malik's knuckles.

Malik was a little stunned. He didn't expect that at all… Why was he still standing there letting the demon hold his hand?

Suddenly, he was pulled into strong arms, and lifted off his feet, as he was carried away from his friend's and back to where Marik was once sitting. It was then that Malik realised what just happened.

"Put me down!" He was tricked! How did that just happen! One minute he thought he could take whatever the demon threw at him. Then suddenly he's trapped in Marik's arms again!

Ryou moved forward to give help to the much needed angel, but was pulled back, and not by Yugi.

"These clothes suit you very well." Whispered a voice in Ryou's ear, a voice that Ryou sadly recognized. "Aren't you glad I picked them for you?" Bakura continued as he put his hand under his slave's chin, and lightly ran his thumb over Ryou's bottom lip.

Before Ryou could even whimper, he was pulled towards the table, and placed on his master's lap. Forced to sit there, while being held firmly in place by a pair of strong arms. He then briefly noticed Yugi sitting at the table next to Yami, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat, under Yami's gaze. His thoughts were broken however, when feeling a pale hand move slowly up his thigh. The angel shook in fright, too scared to move, and too petrified to stop it.

Bakura smirked proud and possessively. Ryou looked even more beautiful when he was scared…

Bakura blinked a little dumbfounded at that unexpected thought. What he meant to say was that he liked scaring Ryou… yeah.

"I don't want it." Malik said irritably, squirming in Marik's lap, as the demon tried to feed him a strange looking piece of purple meat.

Across the table, Yami was resting his head on his right hand, he then moved his plate of food to the side of him, so that it was now in front of Yugi, still not making eye contact since he made the boy sit at the table, while having a faint blush on his cheeks. The clothes looked amazing on him. Yami was surprised that someone could still look so innocent in such clothing.

Yugi looked at the food curiously. He was hungry, but the food on the plate looked far from normal, and certainly not the same food he would eat in Heaven. In Heaven the angels had clean water, fresh vegetables, and different types of meat. For breakfast, Yugi would have fruit. The thing in front of him though was definitely not fruit, it didn't even look completely dead, and it was a strange shade of blue. He was also certain that the glass of red liquid wasn't water. Wine perhaps?

"Do you not want it… sir?" Yugi asked timidly, adding sir on the end as an after thought. He wasn't sure if he should call the demon by his name or not.

"I'm not hungry." Yami mumbled flatly, still not looking Yugi in the eyes, but instead staring off into space, with a troubled expression. Yami thought that his attraction to Yugi was just the innocence he seemed to radiate off, that's why he chose the clothes Yugi was now wearing. Didn't seem to work though…

Yugi looked at the food again. Should he risk trying it?

The small angel was distracted from this daring thought, when hearing a gasp. He quickly looked up at the sound, only to see Ryou with his eyes squeezed shut, cheeks slightly flushed, and looking very uncomfortable and scared, while sitting on Bakura's lap.

Yugi was puzzled. He could understand being scared, but the way Ryou was acting was strange. Was he ill? He seemed fine a minute ago… and what was Bakura doing? He wasn't eating, in fact the food in front of the demon had barley been touched, and his hands were under the ta-

Yugi's eyes widened in shocked realisation. He quickly pushed his chair back, and stood, then hurriedly past Yami, and… stopped? The angel looked over his shoulder to see Yami holding onto his arm, with his ruby eyes fixed onto Yugi's large lilac ones. The angel gave him a pleading look, practically begging the ruler to let go and let him help his friend.

Yami looked at his slave with seriousness, but at look Yugi giving him… he broke in a matter of seconds, and sighed in defeat. Curse those eyes! He didn't let Yugi go however.

"Bakura, knock it off." Yami said sternly.

The younger brother ignored his older sibling. He instead lightly nipped Ryou's neck, and slowly slipped his hand into the angel's shorts.

"Please, s-stop Ba-" Ryou bit his lip as Bakura gave his manhood a sharp squeeze.

"You will call me master." Bakura murmured against Ryou's neck, followed by a particularly hard nip to his slave's skin. The chocolate eyed angel couldn't help but yelp at the sudden sting.

The sound was loud enough to catch Malik's attention, just as he was swatting away the fork of purple meat, that Marik was trying to feed him.

"Hey jackass, leave Ryou alone!"

Bakura looked up at the second complaint, but didn't stop his molesting, he just flagged Malik off instead. This only added to Malik's frustration.

"Malik-pretty calm down, Bakura's not hurting him." Marik tried to reason with his slave, while holding the struggling form tightly at the same time.

The oldest brother growled at the youngest ruler's behaviour.

"Bakura, I said knock it o-

"YAMI!" A demon with long black hair, and greyish blue eyes, came running into the room. He looked about 12, and was holding a small potion bottle containing a bubbling orange liquid. "I swear I got it right this time Yami! Try it!" The boy shoved the bottle into the ruler's hands, an then stared at him impatiently.

Everyone in the room was staring at Yami and the loud interruption, Bakura even paused his little fun with Ryou. In fact he and Marik had amused, cruel smirks on their faces.

"Mokuba, I'm actually a little busy right now-"

"Too busy to care about your health?" Mokuba replied accusingly.

Yami looked at the bottle in his hand nervously. The reason he was so reluctant to drink the liquid, was because he _did_ care about his health, the problem was Mokuba's 'test potions' had the habit to, well… explode. Mokuba however was determined to be the best healer and spell caster in demon history, just like his older brother. The young demon had been trying to solve Yami's headache problems by creating a potion that would stop the headaches coming all together. Seto could probably do it, but since Mokuba was so determined to do it himself, he just let it be. Yami didn't even get a say in the matter.

"Did Seto help you with it this time?"

"Nope! I told him he's not allowed to. How am I suppose to become the best, if my big brother tells me what to do?"

Well that confession didn't make the ruler feel any better. What was he going to do? He couldn't just stand there hoping for some sort of miracle to save him, and he didn't want to hurt Mokuba's feelings, he was a good kid, plus if he did he would get more than just an earful from Seto.

"Lord Yami." Said demon jumped at the new voice from behind him, causing the potion bottle he was holding to drop from his hands, and smash onto the floor. Yami was delighted with the accident, though he tried not to let it show. Bakura and Marik however, were clearly disappointed. The angels just stayed quiet out of curiosity.

"The prisoners are awaiting their punishments. The public have all ready been informed, and are waiting for it to start."

Yami nodded. "Very good, tell the guards that we'll be there momentarily."

"Yes sir." The demon bowed, then left the room.

Yami turned to face his brothers. "Marik, Bakura, we have to go now."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the longest chapter so far! Not sure if that was the best place to end the chapter, but if I carried on then it would have taken me longer to put the chapter up. Sorry it took me a while to update, I've been getting so many essays, and coursework to do that I've not had a lot of free time, hope the length of the chapter makes up for it… Oh and for any SetoxJou fans, Jou will be appearing soon!


	7. Chapter 7

-1Thanks to my reviewers!

FanFicFanGurl101, Kyo lover with little sanity, Roguex1979, bakura240, seto'swifey, Serzie.

Chapter 7

Marik's eyes lit up, and he jumped excitedly from his seat, holding a very unpleased Malik as he did so. "Lets go then!"

"Leave your slave here Marik." Yami said as he made his way to the door.

"Awww, but why?" The tanned demon said disappointedly as he cuddled Malik to his chest.

Malik was visibly twitching with held in anger. He learnt that saying 'get off', and 'let go' had no affect on his captor, but he wasn't one to simply stay quiet either. "Listen to the other demon, and just go will you!" The less time he spent with that demon, the better.

To Malik's surprise, Marik, for once, listened to him. "If that's what you want kitten." He then placed Malik back into the chair.

An eager Bakura, lightly shoved Ryou off his lap and stood with a murderous glint in his eyes. "We'll finish this later." He said casually to his slave, as he walked past Yami and out of the room.

"I'll be back soon Malik-pretty." Marik said happily, as he rushed out of the room to catch up with Bakura.

Yami rolled his eyes at his brothers behaviour. Honestly, it was disturbing how excited they got every time they did this, you would have thought that after doing this type of thing nearly every day, that their excitement would die down a _little_ bit. Then again today's show was rather special…

The oldest ruler was about to take his leave, but stopped when hearing a sigh, and turned to see Mokuba sitting at the table with the three new slaves, looking disappointed.

"I'm sorry about the potion Mokuba."

"It's ok Yami." Mokuba mumbled quietly. "I'll just try again…"

Although Mokuba wasn't looking at Yami, the pointy haired demon nodded anyway. He wasn't sure of what else to say, so he turned back round and walked out of the dining room, but not without taking one last look at his small slave.

The door closed, and the three angels, plus one young demon, were left alone in a room full of silence. The angels looked to one another confused. The rulers just left three prisoners, desperate to escape, all by themselves… surely they weren't that stupid? That, or the three older look a likes very much doubted their chances of successfully escaping.

Then again with a castle full of demons, they would probably end up getting caught again.

"Your name is Mokuba right?"

Mokuba was leaning forward in his chair, one of his elbows resting on the table surface, and his head resting in his hand, with a disappointed frown on his face. The small demon was staring at his now ruined potion that was now shattered on the floor, though maybe it was a good thing that Yami didn't drink it, since now the liquid was bubbling, and spiting dangerously, not to mention the fact that there was now a good size hole in the stone floor. Maybe he made it a bit too strong? He was brought out of his thoughts though, when he heard his name called.

"Sorry, yeah I'm Mokuba. Your Marik's slave right?" He replied naively, without a second thought.

Malik twitched in anger at the word 'slave', but ignored it, he instead forced a smile on his face, the kind of smile that he would use on Ryou or Yugi, when he was trying to convince them into something. The other two angels gave each other a confused glance when seeing this, both thinking the same thing. 'What was Malik planning?'

"Yeah, that's right, I'm … Marik's slave." The words came out a little reluctant, but he said it never the less. "My name is Malik." He then pointed to Ryou and Yugi. "These two are my friends. That's Yugi, and this is Ryou."

Both angels smiled in greeting. "Nice to meet you Mokuba." Ryou said politely.

Mokuba smiled back at the three. "Hi Malik, hi Yugi, nice to meet you to Ryou." Unlike most demons, Mokuba never really saw the difference between demons and humans. They practically looked the same anyway, all you had to do was take away the wings, tail, and the occasional appearance of horns, and it would look as though they were all the same race. So why was everyone so happy with having them as slaves?

"You look like a smart kid Mokuba," Malik said again, the charming smile never once leaving his handsome face "a very determined one to. It's nice of you to try and help Yami, but if I may ask simply of out of curiosity, what's wrong with him?"

Mokuba smiled brightly at the compliment, and sat up straight in his chair, his previous defeated attitude gone, and now replaced with a cheery feeling. Malik and his friends seemed very nice.

"Yami has recurring headaches, bad one's to, so I'm trying to cure the problem completely, by stopping the headaches coming before they get the a chance to even start."

"I see…" Malik got up from his chair, and made his way over to Mokuba, seeming to be in thought. "Well today's your lucky day kid!" He lifted himself onto the table, and turned to face the young demon. "Yugi and Ryou were training in medicine at home, they can help you!"

Yugi and Ryou almost fell off their chairs at that comment. What was Malik doing? Sure they knew the basics, but that was it! Plus medicine in Heaven, and medicine on Earth were completely different! If Mokuba was able to tell the difference, then they would have some major explaining to do.

"It's nice of you guys to offer, but I think I should do it by myself. I'm trying to show my brother that I'm just as good at potions and spells as he is, but if I have help then I wouldn't be able to say that I did it all on my own."

Malik frowned at the reply, but after a few seconds the charming smile was back in place. "I understand Mokuba, you just want to make your brother proud."

Mokuba nodded.

"You want him to see that your not just a kid anymore, that you don't need his help."

Mokuba nodded again.

"That you can do whatever he can do, maybe even better!"

Again Mokuba nodded, this time a little more eagerly.

"You want to shock him, make him apologise for ever doubting you!"

Mokuba head moved up and down rapidly.

Suddenly Malik leaned in close to the boy's face with an enchanting smile. Mokuba stopped his nodding instantly, with a light blush on his face, all of a sudden feeling very nervous.

"Then let us help you." Malik purred.

Mokuba gulped. "I- I-"

"Pleeeease Mokuba?" Malik tried again, with large adorable eyes that could rival Yugi's. "After all, to be the best at something you have to have lots of experience, see different techniques, learn different methods. We'd only tell you what we know, it would be up to you to make the actual potion."

Ryou and Yugi sighed. Malik could be so manipulative and sneaky, that at times it was hard to believe he was an angel. A lot of people in Heaven would agree, but deep down Malik was a good person, and defiantly a good friend, but for some reason he only showed these good quality's to Ryou and Yugi.

"Well…"

"Pleeeease?" Malik added one last time for good measure.

"I guess your right, so ok!"

Malik pulled his face back happily. "That's great Mokuba! You made the right choice, but…"

Mokuba blinked confusingly. "But…?"

"You'll have a lab right? You'll have to take us there with you. Yugi and Ryou need to see what type of herbs and stuff you have."

Mokuba considered this for a moment, but it seemed reasonable enough. "Sure, that's fine." He said with a small smile. "You guys can come with me to the lab tomorrow, or later on today if you like."

"Why not now?" Malik asked hopefully. Yugi and Ryou still not understanding why Malik was so eager.

Mokuba looked at the blonde haired angel, as though the idea was ridiculous. "But… I mean, don't you guys have to do your chores?"

"Chores?" All three prisoners asked at once.

"Yes chores." Yugi, Malik and Ryou, jumped at the sound of a cold, strict voice. When the three looked behind them, they saw a tall, slim, brown haired demon, with piercing blue eyes.

"Big brother!" Mokuba cried happily, and ran into his brother's arms. The demon's eyes softened when seeing his younger sibling, and embraced him like a good brother should.

"He's your brother?…" Yugi asked surprised.

"The prick that put us in a cage is your brother?" Malik said angrily.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is great! I'm so excited, aren't you Bakura?" Marik asked his voice dangerous, but happy.

Bakura smirked, and extended his claws. "It is going to be fun, and to think I thought none of them had the guts to try a stunt like that." Bakura's smirk grew. "I'm glad they proved me wrong, it makes their punishment a lot more painful."

"You better not be greedy and kill them all on your own, like you did last time Bakura!" Although Marik said this with a pout, his voice was serious, and defiantly held some threat.

"There'll be plenty for both of us." Bakura scowled back, not the least bit intimidated.

"There better be." Marik growled back. "How many are there anyway?"

Bakura shrugged, and so decided to ask his oldest brother, who was walking in front of him and Marik. "Yami, how many traitors are there?"

Yami didn't answer, it didn't even look like he heard the question.

The white haired demon snarled, he didn't like to be ignored. "Yami, I'm talking to you!"

Still no reply, and Bakura's rage sharply increased.

"YAMI YOU OVERGROWN STARFISH, I SAID I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

That did the trick.

"You dare call me that again Bakura, and I'll-"

"You'll what? Go into another little dream world all about that twerp of yours?"

Yami fought to keep his blush down. "What in Hell gave you that idea!"

"You haven't been able to take yours eyes off that shrimp since yesterday. That and the fact there's not one scratch on him, he's not even limping! I know your not as _rough _with your slaves as I am, but for crying out loud Yami!" Bakura ridiculed. "I wonder though, if you refuse to touch him, but can't take your eyes off his body… does that mean your afraid?"

Yami's body visibly stiffened at the suggestion, but did not stop his steps as they made their way out of the castle entrance, many of the castle guards joining the rulers by their sides as they did. Since when was Bakura so observant in his actions anyway?

"And what, pray tell, would I be afraid of?" Yami replied back, his voice hushed, since he didn't really want the guards knowing about his private life. "Taking him to my bed?" He said in a mock tone of voice, clearly showing his sarcasm.

"Yes, and no." Bakura replied back simply.

Yami almost stopped dead in his tracks when hearing his brother utter those three words. He was shocked. Was that it? Was he afraid? Afraid that if he took that boy into his arms he would feel something more than he should?

"Fool." Yami said back spitefully to his younger sibling. "What about you?"

Bakura raised a brow at the question. "What are you talking about?"

"There's not a scratch on your slave's skin either, usually your slave's die from blood loss on the first night." Yami said accusingly.

What was Yami talking about? Of course there were, he- wait a minute…Yami was right he didn't even cut him… WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH HIM! Sure he gave the kid a few bruisers, but that was it! He had all those toys on his wall, and he only used one to tear the boy's clothes apart!

Bakura saw the confidant smirk on Yami's face, and immediately got angry.

"You better wipe that smirk off your face before I-"

"Hey!" Marik interrupted, getting sick with his brothers bickering. "I want to know how many we're punishing."

Yami glared one last time to the youngest ruler, before answering Marik's question. "Two."

"ONLY TWO!" Both Marik and Bakura shouted in disbelief.

"It only took two of them to get that far?" A shocked Bakura said.

"We need to get new guards." Marik mumbled.

As the three made their way further into the castle grounds, their demon followers quickly came into view. A large stage was built to the side of the castle gates, where the entire demon race stood in wait for their leaders to show, gossip and whispers in the air. Standing on the stage were two prisoners, one was a female demon with short brown hair, and blue eyes, the other was a male demon with pointed brown hair, and mud brown eyes. Both were chained by their wrists and ankles, so they had difficulty taking one step without falling over.

As soon as the rulers came in sight, all demons stopped their chatter, and everything suddenly went quiet. The brothers never got tiered of seeing how much power they held over the others, it was amusing. The guards that were trailing by the side of the rulers went to join the other guards who were circling the crowd.

Each demon rushed to move out of their leaders way, as they slowly walked closer to the stage, until a clear path was formed. Not one demon dared to try and stop them, and soon the three most feared demons in Hell, were standing on the stage, with hundreds of eyes watching them.

"My loyal followers." Yami began addressing the crowd. "It is to my great disappointment, that I must inform you all of a traitorous crime committed against one of our strict law's. Not only was what they did stupid, but it was practically suicidal as well." Yami continued, his voice strict, cold, and intimidating, completely different to the way he would act inside the castle.

Bakura grabbed a hold of Honda's collar and threw him to the floor. "The little shits tried to assassinate us!" The younger brother shouted out, with a fierce snarl.

Many gasps were heard, and whispering started once again, this time louder than before. No demon had ever tried such a thing. It was suicide. You had to be crazy to even think of trying to kill one of the rulers of Hell! If you were caught the only reassurance you had was for a quick death! It was unheard of!

Yami rolled his eyes, Bakura had ruined his introduction. "Yes what my brother says is true, these doomed souls planned a pitiful attempt against mine, and my brother's lives."

"Kill the scum!" A demon shouted from the crowd.

"Slit their throats!" Another shout.

"Tear them limb from limb!"

"Make them pay!"

The guards were having trouble keeping the crowd back.

Marik smirked, and looked down at the girl that was kneeling next to her accomplice in crime, trying to help him back onto his feet, her face bitter, angry, but strangely not scared. "The crowd cry's for blood, to bad for you two, huh?"

"Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda, because of this unspeakable act, your sentenced punishments will not only be torture, but shall also be followed by death as well. As usual my brothers have insisted they have the honour in dealing with the punishments themselves. Do either one of you have any last words?" Said Yami.

Honda pushed Anzu away, and managed to get onto his knees. "Nothing we say will make any difference to what will eventually happen." He said smugly.

"You mean your death?" Yami clarified.

"No." Anzu said sharply, as she to got onto her knees, and glared at the three rulers. "Yours."

"You pathetic little slut! How dare you threaten us! We-…." Bakura's furious reply suddenly trailed off to a stop when hearing soft mumbling from below him. Anzu and Honda had turned away from the argument, with their heads bowed, and hands together.

They were praying.

Angry roars erupted from the crowd when seeing this, tails slammed against the floor in rage, causing tremors to run across the ground, and the guards were having a hard time keeping the public back.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Marik screamed, his normal childish, and playful behaviour gone. The only one who really seemed to act like himself was Bakura.

The public did not calm down, and guards were getting pushed back. If something was not done soon, then the crowd would be punishing the prisoners themselves, and cause havoc everywhere. Neither ruler was in the mood to deal with a riot.

A deep, mighty, powerful roar was heard above the noise, and managed to reach every corner of Hell. The demons stopped, and looked towards the stage. Yami, Marik, and Bakura were standing together, proud and fierce, with their sharp fangs gleaming, wings fully spread, and horns shown in full glory.

The sight was so intimidating, that the demon didn't even risk breathing to loud. If you got on the rulers bad side when they were like this, it was said they could take more than just your life.

"That's better." Marik said to the crowd approvingly.

Bakura turned round angrily, and gave both Anzu and Honda a swift kick in the face. Each demon fell back in pain. "You're both going to pay dearly for that little stunt." A large crazed smirk formed on Bakura's face, and he turned away from the two on the floor. "Bring in our toys!"

The crowd cheered, and upon Bakura's command, servants, and a few slaves, wheeled in some torture devices of different sizes. One was for stretching the victim, until their bones were pulled from their sockets. Another was a type of see through chamber, containing electric needles, the victim would be stabbed and electrocuted.

After all the devices were onstage, the servants then brought out some of Bakura's and Marik's favourite weapons.

Yami moved to the side of the stage, and sat down on a thrown like chair. "Let the show begin!" Yami announced. The crowd let out another eager cheer.

Anzu and Honda scrambled as far away from Marik and Bakura as they possibly could, and looked from left to right, as though silently telling someone to hurry up and save them… but no one came to the rescue, and the fear in their eyes was obvious.

"Hope your not too attached to your skin." Marik said with a happy smile, as he held up a knife.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damn it, I thought I would have Jou's part in this chapter, but it hasn't got that far yet… hopefully Jou will show up next chapter though. Again I apologise if it was a long wait (I picked a bad time to start a fanfic ;). Hope you all forgive me, and that the chapter wasn't too boring.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8

-1Thanks to all of my reviewers!

**Roguex1979**Thank you! And yes there should be more lemony goodness, after all I still have to do a YamixYugi!

**bakura240**Thank you! And look I updated!

**Serzie**Don't worry it will happen, but not just yet, sorry… but thanks for reviewing!

**Kyo lover with little sanit****y: **I updated!

**JaklynToki**: I'm glad you like the story so far . And yes Malik is very cute (especially in that outfit). I would give you some of those toys, but I don't think I would be able to steal them from Marik and Bakura fast enough. **Bakura**: "What did you just say!" **Me**: "NothingBakuraIwasn'tgoingtostealfromyouIswear!"

**yamisgirl13**Really? I remember reading that story a long time ago. I loved it! I'm not sure if my story is as good as that one, but either way thank you for the compliment! Glad you like the story! And thank you so much for the review!

**darkniteangle**Thank you! Here's the next chapter.

**Graceful Storyteller**Thank you . You'll find out more of Malik's plan in the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing!  
**Kanashimi no Tenshi**Thank you, I'm glad you like it so much.

Chapter 8

Ryou sighed miserably, as he bent down on his hands and knees to start scrubbing the floor. He was tired, upset, and most of all irritated thanks to the clothes he was wearing. High heeled boots and white leather, weren't exactly good clothes for cleaning.

Ryou sighed again, and dipped the old rag he was holding into the bucket of soapy water by his side. He'd been at this for hours already. His feet hurt, his knees were sore, and most importantly he was worried about Yugi and Malik. He hadn't seen them since this morning, after 'Lord Kaiba' told, or rather forced, them into taking their duties seriously, or else they would have to 'face the consequences' as Seto so nicely put it.

Ryou rolled his eyes. There was nothing _nice _about that demon.

The angel suddenly frowned, and quickly shook his head at that thought. That was wrong, there is some good in everyone, it's just harder to see in some people. Then again he was talking about a demon here… but Mokuba seemed nice, so maybe not all demons were bad? Then again, maybe that was just because of Mokuba's age…

"Something's not right."

The boy stopped and looked up at the sound of footsteps and voices from the hallway.

"What do you mean?" Ryou's eyes widened. That sounded like Malik's look-a-like, which means that Bakura-

"Now what are you complaining about? The entire thing went well to me."

"That's because Honda lasted longer than Anzu! You got to have fun way longer than I did Bakura!"

-was back to… somehow that fact didn't make Ryou jump for joy… he almost felt like crying again.

"Will you two stop arguing, and listen to me!"

The footsteps stopped.

"What's wrong Yami?"

"Yeah, why are you having another hissy fit?"

"It's just." There was a pause. "Don't you think it's strange?"

"What?"

"Everything. The fact that they were praying, the weapon they tried to use."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bakura crossed his arms, and looked at his oldest brother, looking very annoyed. "We already went through this idiot. The weapon is simple enough to make, even if it was pure light, and they prayed after because they're crazy! The fact that they tried to assassinate us in the first place is proof of that."

"I'm not saying they're not crazy." Yami replied back. "But because they were able to make that weapon is suspicious, we know that it's simple to make, but how did _they_ know? It was enchanted with pure white magic, Anzu and Honda aren't smart enough to figure out how to do that!"

"So another demon helped them out, big deal." Marik said with a shrug. "We'll just go find them, and then play with them a little like we did with Honda and Anzu." He added with a big grin.

Yami shook his head. "You two don't get it do you? They felt confidant enough to threaten you, and then prayed to the people that actually are 'pure light,' when they knew that would just anger us all more. It was as though they had nothing to fear, as though they knew someone was going to save them!" Yami paused again. So many troubled thoughts were running through his head, and the sudden idea that leaped at him troubled him even more. "I don't think the one that helped them was a demon..."

Bakura blinked, a little taken back by what his brother just said. "You're not saying?…."

"I think there's an angel in Hell."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryou dropped the rag he was holding, and was so horrified about what he just heard, that he began to shake. The conversation he was listening to had turned to mumbles, yet there were no sounds to suggest that the rulers had walked further away, they must have lowered their voices on purpose.

What he heard though… oh God… an angel in Hell…

He must have heard wrong. HE MUST HAVE HEARD WRONG! They didn't do anything! The rulers were talking about something that had nothing to do with them, and yet if they were found out, then they would probably get blamed for it! And now that the three demons were suspicious of this _half truth _it could cause serious problems! What if the demons announce a search? Did the rulers know a way to uncover an angels wings?

Ryou scrambled up from the floor. He needed to tell Yugi and Malik! He would have done it to, if that stupid bucket of water he was using didn't trip him up…

"Why is mini-Kura on the floor?"

The pale teen heard footsteps coming into the room, and recognised the voice to be Marik's. He almost blurted out 'I'M NOT AN ANGEL, I SWEAR!' But when he did look up, what he saw managed to scare him to the point where words were unable to leave his mouth.

Bakura and Marik's clothes were covered in blood.

Ryou jumped as far away from Marik as he possibly could, and ended up pushing his back against the wall at the other side of the room, shaking like a leaf, and looking as though he'd just seen the demons commit murder in front of his very eyes.

Marik raised a brow at Ryou's strange behaviour. "Mini-Kura is acting weird… I think he's ill."

"He's not ill, you're just scaring him." Yami said, looking completely uninterested.

Bakura however found this quite amusing, Ryou was acting like a lamb being cornered by three hungry wolves. "Marik, don't you have to go feed your cat or something?"

Marik's confused look, suddenly turned to a happy hyper one, when his precious kitty was mentioned. "I have to find Malik-pretty!" The tanned demon said in a joyously keen voice. "Bye mini-Kura!" He then speedily left the room.

Ryou didn't say anything, but looked to be a little relieved that one of the 'hungry wolves' had gone away.

Bakura smirked, and then turned to Yami giving him a look that practically screamed 'GET LOST.'

Yami rolled his eyes, but walked out of the room. It's not as though he didn't have anything better to do anyway… maybe he should check on Yugi…

Ryou let out another relieved breath, another demon had gone away so- WAIT, NO THAT WAS BAD! With Yami and Marik gone it meant that he was left alone in a room with-

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?"

Ryou began to shake again. It meant that he was alone with Bakura.

"I-I w-was just cleaning" The angel said, voice quivering "I s-should really get back t-to it."

Bakura slowly stalked his way closer to the frightened slave. He could hear the pale teen's heartbeat pounding fiercely, and it thrilled Bakura to no end. "You wouldn't get very far, seeing as you have no water left." He gestured to the tipped over bucket, and spilt water on the floor.

"T-then I should get some more." The angel moved to get around Bakura, but as soon as he was in reach, the demon grabbed him, and roughly pulled him to the side, so he stood in front of the demon, staring directly into lustful brown eyes flaring with sadistic need.

Ryou gulped nervously.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Malik's angry voice was heard echoing throughout the halls, and a split second later, Malik was running into the room followed by Marik.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE? FOR GOD SAKE, YOU HAVE BLOOD ALL OVER YOU!" Malik then ran around the table so it was in between him and the purple eyed ruler.

"But Malik-prettttttttty!" Marik said with a whiny pout, as he tried to run around the table and catch his blonde kitten.

Bakura growled. "Will you two get the Hell out!"

The two blondes ignored him.

Malik ran from the table. "You dare touch me pineapple-head, and I swear I'll- AHH!" Malik yelped as he slipped on the wet floor, and skidded across the room, crashing straight into Ryou and Bakura.

Ryou gasped as he was forcefully pushed to the ground, and winced as his head hit the floor.

--------------(Flashback)--------------

The boy yelled in pain as his head hit the floor, but refused to cry as another boy pinned him down, and twisted his arm.

"Where'd your sister go Ryou?" The boy snarled as he sat on Ryou's back, still twisting and pulling his arm at a painful angle.

"You leave Amane alone!"

"Aw, come on Ryou, I'm not gonna hurt her. Me and my friends just want to talk to her."

"You're lying! Leave her alone, or I'll-"

The boy laughed. "You'll what? Is poor innocent little Ryou going to tell his_ daddy _on me? Oh wait, that's right you can't because he'd rather be on the other side of the world then anywhere near you!"

--------------(End flashback)--------------

"Kitten!" Marik shouted worriedly, and ran to his fallen slave.

The tanned angel grumbled, and rubbed his head, but then yelped again as he was pushed to the floor, and off of an angry white haired demon.

"You little brat!" Bakura yelled threateningly, and let his claws grown to their full size.

Marik hurriedly picked Malik up from the floor, and brought him close to his chest, growling at Bakura warningly. Bakura growled right back.

"Ow." Ryou mumbled as he pushed himself up from the floor, while clutching his head. Was all that… a memory?

"I'm sorry Ryou! Are you ok?"

"Huh?" Ryou slowly managed to focus his dizzy vision on Malik, and his concerned face, while still trapped in Marik's arms. "Oh, yeah I'm fine Mal- MALIK! I have to tell-" Suddenly Ryou stopped, when realising that Bakura and Marik were still in the room having their little 'growling contest'.

"Never mind…" Ryou mumbled quietly. What was he thinking? Of course he couldn't tell Malik about what he heard… at least not with Bakura and Marik in the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did he have to be so small?

Yugi pouted and crossed his arms in a sulking manner. Lord Kaiba had made him clean the Library, and while the small angel was dusting some of the shelves, a certain book had caught his eye. It was called 'Demonic past'. Yugi guessed it to be about demon history, and his curious nature couldn't help but get interested with it.

Sadly the book was on a very high shelf, and Yugi's short arms were unable to reach it… he needed a chair. As the boy looked around the library though, there only seemed to be large lounging chairs.

Yugi frowned, there was no way he could move one of them over to the shelf, they were just too big and heavy for him, plus he wasn't even sure if the chairs would get him high enough to grab the book. So what could he do?… Well there was one option that could work, but did he dare do it?

Yugi's eyes darted around the room, searching for anyone else who might be in the Library, but after seeing no one, he decided to pull all his courage together and take the risk. With a deep breath, Yugi jumped into the air and made his wings quickly unfold from his back. With a flap of white feathers, he was able to get high enough to reach the book. Yugi smiled in victory, and reached out to grab it-

A creaking sound was heard, which sounded suspiciously like a door opening. Yugi panicked and without thinking, he immediately focussed his light energy into putting his wings back into his back.

Yami stepped into the room, and quietly closed the door behind him. Seto had told him that he took Yugi to the Library to start cleaning.

"Yugi?" The ruler called.

An alarmed 'eep' was heard, and Yami automatically went to the distressed yelp, worried that his slave was in trouble. When he did find Yugi however, he didn't expect to find him dangling from a shelf that was up four times higher than himself.

Then suddenly Yugi's fingers slipped, and Yami's eyes widened when Yugi began to fall.

As though on instinct, Yami quickly dove forward, only just managing to catch the small boy by pulling him into his chest. Both skidded across the floor, Yami holding the boy tightly so Yugi was securely pressed against him, until they came to a halt.

Yugi's heart was pounding hard, and he found himself shaking from the whole experience. Just a second ago he was hastily trying to get rid of his wings, and then all of a sudden he's grabbing onto the bookshelf in a vain attempt to stop himself from falling and breaking his leg… and now he was being held…?

"I'm sorry!" The angel found himself shouting to his saviour, but the arms around him had not loosened, and he found it impossible to move. Hesitantly, Yugi slowly lifted his face away from the chest he was being carefully held against, to see Yami staring at him with a look he could not place. A strange feeling was stirring in the pit of Yugi's stomach, as he stared into deep red orbs.

He should let go now shouldn't he? But he couldn't. Although Yami's mind was telling him to let go of the boy, his arms just refused to listen. It was strange how perfectly Yugi fit into his arms… it was as though the human was made just for him… no one else… his, all his…

Without realising it, the demon had slowly leaned closer, and Yugi was able to feel Yami's warm breath fall soothingly onto his face with every breath he took. Was Yami going to… kiss him? But if Yugi thought he was, then why didn't he try and struggle to keep him away?

They drew closer, and closer, until their lips were a mere inch apart-

The mood was cut short, when a cough was heard from behind them. Yugi quickly drew away, and lowered his head to hide behind his golden bangs in an attempt to not meet the demons gaze, while blushed fiercely in embarrassment.

Yami however let out a low growl in the back of his throat, thoroughly annoyed. He was so close! So close! The only option Yami could see in getting over this little 'crush', was to woo Yugi into his bed, then once the deed was done he would be bored of Yugi like he had his other slaves, and his fascination with the boy would come to a stop. The fact that he couldn't just take the boy when he wanted was frustrating, and a complete mystery to him at the same time, but he would do it, Yugi just seemed too addicting for the ruler not to.

Although he couldn't deny that he felt….something… while holding Yugi so close, but whatever that 'something' was he chose to ignore it.

"Yami." The serious, and somewhat angry voice said from behind him.

Yami recognised the voice immediately, and felt like hitting his head against the wall. Seto. The one person he couldn't yell and threaten at for disturbing him, because he knew it would have no effect on the spell caster/potion master.

"What?" Yami asked dully.

"We need to discuss the matter of this morning." Seto said in a very displeased tone of voice.

"So talk." Yami said a little snappy.

The blue eyed demon gave Yugi a quick glance, not really wanting to talk about such an important matter in front of a human, but he continued as ordered.

"The council is very unhappy with you and your brothers, you did not tell them that you would have Anzu and Honda put to death during the torture show."

Yugi stiffened when hearing the word 'death'. Yami had killed someone? For some reason Yugi's heart ached painfully at this new information, but what did he expect? Yami was a demon after all, and not just any demon, he was a ruler, killing was probably an everyday thing for him.

Yami groaned. Those fools that made up his council just wouldn't give him a break. He was the ruler of Hell, and yet he needed to explain himself for everything thing he did to the council members. They treated Bakura and Marik exactly the same way, and have suggested numerous times that they should get rid of them _their way _instead of putting up with them. Although he did need to discuss a similar topic about this morning with the council…

"Tell the council that me and my brothers will discuss this at the meeting tomorrow."

Seto nodded.

"And Seto?"

"Yes?"

"You would be wise to **knock **next time."

"I did not knock because I was not at the door."

"What?" Yami asked in confusion, but as he looked over his shoulder, Seto had already gone. "…Damn magician." The ruler grumbled.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nurse Mai, do ya think I could get some more pork chops please?"

"Jounouchi, I don't know where you put it all! This is your third plate already!"

A blonde teen was sitting up in a hospital bed, with a bandage wrapped around his head, and a sheepish grin on his face. In front of him was a tray, with three empty plates. "Hey am still a growing boy Mai! I gotta keep my strength up if a expected to be let outa here!"

Mai laughed. "You may be a growing boy, but if you carry on eating like that you'll end up getting fat, hon." She said with a small shake of her head. "And actually that's what I came to tell you. The doctor said you're ok to leave the hospital now, just be careful not to bang that head of yours again."

"For real? That's great!" Jou said excitedly, after all, the sooner he got out of the hospital, the sooner he could go beat the crap out of Malik for making him crash into that fountain.

"That's right, so that means," Mai bent over and took the tray from Jou "no more pork chops."

"Aww! But nurse Mai!" But the nurse took no notice of the teens whiny complaints, and simply walked away.

Well that was just great… Sure he wanted to go find Malik, but he wanted the pork chops to… Jou's excited face soon turned into a sad one, as he watched Mai's retreating back.

"Stop being so lazy Jou, and get your ass out of bed."

Jou sharply turned his head to the side to find the source of this new voice, and tell whoever it was to get lost, when he realised it was none other than his friend Otogi leaning against the wall.

"Shut up Otogi… where ya been anyway? I an't seen you for two days."

"Watching over a new human down on Erath. So what happened to you?"

"What do ya think happened? It was that twat Malik again!" Jou shouted angrily. "Because of him I was knocked out for a whole hour!- HEY, DON'T LAUGH AT ME!"

"S-sorry Jou, b-but it's just too funny!" The ebony haired angel said, while trying to put a stop to his snickering.

"It's not funny!" Jou replied angrily, fighting the urge to whack his so called 'friend' upside the head.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry." Otogi apologised again, just about managing to put a complete stop to his laughing. "You shouldn't get so worked up about it anyway, I bet Ryou and Yugi have already come up with a fitting punishment for him."

Jou broke out into a grin. "Yeah, remember the time they forced Malik to be my maid for a week? He even apologised, and gave me a tray full of cookies afterwards to!"

"…Weren't you sick after you ate those cookies though? I thought you were in bed for two weeks straight…"

"THAT'S BECAUSE THE LITTLE PRICK POISONED ME!" Jou shouted angrily again, his happy grin now back to the angry frown.

Otogi sweat dropped. "Jou keep your voice down, other patients are staring…"

The honey eyed angel took no notice of his friends complaint, and instead shoved the covers off his body, and swung his legs round to stand, revealing the white hospital gown his was wearing. "Shut the curtains."

"Why? What's going on?" Otogi asked.

"I need to get dressed, an' am not gonna go out in public wearing this!" Jou said with much distaste, and he pointed to the gown.

Otogi paled. "I don't want you getting naked in front of me!" The guardian angel shouted, which in result attracted more stares from the other angels on the ward, one being an old man sitting up in his bed across from them, giving them a particular disgusted look.

"Geez, just go an' stand on the other side of the curtain then will ya!"

Otogi grumbled, but did just that and shut the curtains, and waited for his friend to get dressed.

"So how is Ryou, Yugi, and Malik anyway? I bet Yugi and Ryou have been mothering you as soon as you were taken into the hospital, right?" Otogi shouted from the other side of the curtain, with a small amused smile.

"Actually I an't seen them yet… but am not sure they know I'm in the hospital, I don't even think Malik knows either."

"That's strange." Otogi said in thought. "I went over to their place before I came looking for you, but it was empty, I just assumed they were somewhere with you."

"Well maybe they went to watch Malik do some sparring down at the training hall?"

"Yeah, maybe." Suddenly the curtains were pulled back, and out came a fully dressed Jounouchi, wearing denim jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a green jacket. "Well that was quick."

"Yeah, well am eager to thank Malik for putting me in the hospital." Jou said with a smirk, as he punched his palm.

Otogi rolled his eyes. "Are we off to the training hall then?"

"You bet we are!"

After Jou was discharged from the hospital both guard, and guardian angel went in search to find the three friends, sadly they didn't have much luck in finding them. When they reached the training hall, the angels there told them they hadn't seen Malik all week. They then tried the training centre where Yugi and Ryou would study in medicine, but there was still no sign of them. They looked everywhere they could think of, but the effort was pointless, it was as though they just disappeared.

When they checked the angels home, but found it still as empty as when Otogi first came to check on the three, the two angels began to worry.

"I don't understand, where do you think they've gone!" Otogi asked, his voice full of concern and worry.

"I don't know… they gotta be around 'ere somewhere, I mean they can't av just vanished from Heaven-… Wait a minute!" In a flash Jou began to check his pockets, his face showing pure panic.

"Er, Jou… what are you doing?" The green eyed angel said, raising a brow at Jou's odd behaviour.

"It's gone!" Jou yelled in distress.

"What's gone?"

"The key!"

"The key?"

"YES THE KEY! The key I was given when I was guarding Heaven's gates! IT'S GONE!" Jou turned his pockets inside out, but there was no doubt about it.

It was gone.

"WHAT! Jou, are you trying to tell me that the _only_ key to Heaven is lost!" The raven haired angel shouted in shock, as he grasped his friends shoulders roughly.

"No, no, no!" The guard said quickly in his defence, and pushed his friends hands away. "Every professionally trained guard is given a copy of the original key in case of emergences."

Otogi suddenly calmed down, but looked at Jou in a very odd, and confused way. "No offence man, but what's the big deal? So you lost one key-"

"The big deal," The blonde interrupted "Is that anyone could av found the key and walked through the gates when I was knocked out!-… OH MY GOD!"

Otogi's eyes suddenly widened, and his body turned tense once more, when hearing the alarm is Jou's voice. "What? What's wrong now?"

"That's the last time I saw Malik, Ryou, and Yugi! I think they took the key, and left Heaven! It all makes sense! Where else could they possibly be? We've looked everywhere!"

"Are you saying they're on Earth!"

"AM I SPEAKING ANOTHER LANGUAGE OR SOMETHIN? Yes I'm saying they're on Earth!- OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" The hysterical blonde said angrily, as he rubbed his arm, after Otogi had for some strange reason felt the need to punch him there.

"Screaming at me isn't going to bring them back, nor will getting angry at me make it any better."

"AN' THAT MAKES IT ALRIGHT TO PUNCH ME? -OW!" Jou grumbled as he rubbed the numb feeling now in his arm, from Otogi's second punch.

"You do know what we have to do right?" Otogi said seriously.

"No way man we can't do that! We'll end up gettin them into trouble!… If it were just Malik I wouldn't mind, but Yugi and Ryou are my friends!" The guard shouted, this time taking a step back with caution in case Otogi decided to punch him again.

Otogi frowned. "They're _all_ my friends Jou, but what choice do we have? What if they end up getting hurt or lost? They might not be able to find their way back to Heaven." This caught Jou's attention, but he still looked reluctant. "Cheer up Jou, you're acting like the Elder's are bad people… besides the new Elder is suppose to be really nice, so we should probably find him first."

Jou sighed, but nodded in agreement. "What was that guys name again?"

Otogi smiled, grateful that his friend was now cooperating with him

"Pegasus."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will you look at that? Jou's in the story again! You'll see plenty more of him soon. Sorry it took me so long to update guys, it's my last year of school so I've been having a lot of work piled on me. Hope you all like the chapter though.

Please **review** and give me the encouragement I need! (The chapters are going to get a little tricky for me soon).


	9. Chapter 9

-1Thanks to my reviewers!

bakura240, yamisgirl13, Rogue1979, crazysycochick, redconvoy, Kyo lover with little sanity, The Yaoi Pimpette, FanFicFanGurl101, seto'swifey, sympa

Chapter 9

Ryou laid still, the only movement being his light trembling. His eyes were glazed and misty like steam on glass, as they stared into the face that only recently caused him such overwhelming pain and misery. Bakura was so close… so close, and even though the demons eyes were closed, just his mere presence wrecked the angels heart with fear.

He did it again last night, and just like before Ryou's please were completely ignored. Nothing he said seemed to make a difference. The only reason he wasn't gagged was because Bakura took pleasure in hearing the helpless screams, and moans that were forced from Ryou's mouth.

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut. The demons words from last night still lingering in his mind.

"_My Ryou… You've been good today haven't you?"_

"_Please Master Bakura, don't!"_

_A laugh, such a bone chilling laugh. "Why do you cry so much? Don't worry Ryou, last night was a punishment, tonight will be pure pleasure." _

He didn't want to remember! He didn't even want to think about it! But he couldn't block it out. He tried… he tried so hard, but when you've been through something like that… when you've been pounded into mercilessly… it just seemed impossible to forget. Ryou's bottom lip trembled along with his body, but he quickly trapped the lip between his teeth. There was no point in crying, it wouldn't make anything better…

How many humans had Bakura done this to before Ryou took their place? Those poor people… how could Bakura be so heartless?

The ruler was sleeping now, peacefully to. One of his arms was hung loosely over Ryou's waist, and Bakura's tail was wrapped snugly around Ryou's left thigh. It was almost like a lover holding his partner after a night full of romance and passion.

But Ryou knew better than to believe such a lie.

He wished that he could be stronger. If he was, then maybe Bakura wouldn't be able to have his way with him… Malik was strong. If he was as strong as Malik he would probably be able to fight off the demon… but Ryou didn't dare make the young ruler angry in case he was treated worse than he already was, if that was even possible anyway… Malik didn't seem to care though. He even gave that tanned demon a kick in the crotch! If he could do that then maybe…maybe… no. Who was he kidding? He could never do something like that to Bakura, he didn't even like violence, and on top of that, he was weak…

A mumble was brought to Ryou's attention. He did his best to stop his trembling, and kept his eyes shut to forge sleep, worried that Bakura was beginning to wake.

Bakura grumbled as sleep slowly began to fade. He hated waking up, waking up meant that he eventually had to get out of bed. Maybe he should just go back to sleep? There were no prisoners needing punishment today, so what was the harm? Yes, a whole day in bed… a whole day in bed with Ryou…

The demon smirked, with his eyes still closed, as he grabbed a hold of the body next to him, and pulled it closer.

BANG, BANG. Ryou's eyes snapped open when hearing someone knock at Bakura's bedroom door. Quite loudly to.

BANG, BANG, BANG. Bakura growled but made no motion to move, instead he pulled Ryou closer and buried his face into the boy's long white locks, in a vain attempt to ignore the person knocking and go back to sleep.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! Bakura didn't budge.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! "Bakura!" The person yelled frustratingly from the other side of the door.

Bakura growled again, lifted his head, and glared at the door. "FUCK OFF!"

The rather blunt reply didn't seem to discourage the person in the slightest. "GET OUT OF BED, AND OPEN THE DOOR!"

"I said, **FUCK OFF**!" Bakura yelled again, this time more aggressively, causing Ryou to edge away a little bit, it was impossible to forge sleep now, what with the noise, so there was no point in still pretending.

Suddenly a dull thud shook the door, and Bakura gave the door a suspicious glance. That definitely wasn't a knock… The demon let go of Ryou and reached for his dagger. Another dull thud, and all of a sudden, Bakura's bedroom door was on the floor. In the doorway stood a grinning Marik, and an annoyed Yami.

Both ducked when seeing the dagger flying at them.

Yami stood back up to his full height, glaring at his younger brother dangerously. "Damn it Bakura will you stop trying to kill us already?!"

"I'll stop trying to kill you, when you leave me the hell alone!" Bakura shouted back from his spot on the bed.

"Believe me, I would rather never see you again, then try and get you up in the morning!" Yami didn't want to be dealing with Bakura's attitude this early in the morning, so he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little agitated. "We have a meeting to go to remember?" He finished with a low grumble.

Bakura snarled. Damn those old coots! He should just kill them and be done with it! They annoyed him to no end! If it wasn't for the fact that he and his brothers actually had something rather important to discuss this time, he would have refused to go all together!

"Fine." The younger brother spat, much like a teenager that had stubbornly gave in to his parents wishes. Though deep down he felt a twinge of anticipation. The covers were flung from Bakura's body as he stepped out of bed, wearing a little less clothes then his brothers were prepared for…

"Oh for- " The oldest ruler protested, and quickly shield his eyes. Bakura's bare ass was NOT something he wanted to see. "Put some clothes on will you!"

Bakura simply gave him the finger, and went over to the wardrobe, but not before catching Marik's wondering eyes hover on his 'lower' regions.

"What are you looking at?" Bakura said gruffly, while pulling out a black silk blouse from the wardrobe.

Marik smirked, not the least bit bothered with his brother's appearance. "You're small." The older brother replied simply.

Marik ducked as the second dagger came at him at full speed.

"I'll show you what small is." Bakura said threateningly, as he aimed another dagger at Marik's groin.

"NO!" Yami said sharply. "No fighting! Just put some clothes on Bakura and lets go, it's too early in the morning for this!" Of course Yami's word had little to no effect on Bakura.

Seeing what was coming, Marik dashed across the room and jumped onto the bed. Ryou let out a squeak of surprise and moved to get out of the way, but to his dismay Marik was able to grab him before he had time to flee, and was forced to sit firmly in front of the demon between his legs. Thankfully Ryou managed to take the covers with him, otherwise Bakura wouldn't have been the only pale teen to show off his nude form in front of two rulers.

"Marik, what do you think you're doing with Ryou?" Bakura said the strict words venomously, glaring at his brother with the utmost fury at seeing him holding Ryou so closely. After all, Ryou was HIS property, and he didn't like people touching what belonged to him.

"Making sure you don't throw that dagger somewhere you're not suppose to." Marik said back. Normally Marik wouldn't have even considered hiding behind a slave to escape one of Bakura's attacks, but Marik had a small suspicion about this slave. Usually Bakura would just throw the dagger if there was a slave there or not, after all Bakura's throws were very powerful, and could easily make it's way through the flesh of more than one person to allow it to reach the original target, but Marik thought this wouldn't be the case this time. Ryou seemed to be something slightly more special to his brother. Sure Bakura would deny it, but there was definitely something different in the way he treated this slave, to the way he treated his previous slaves. For one thing, Marik had actually caught Bakura calling Ryou by his name. Slaves Bakura had owned in the past had just been referred to as 'human', 'wench', 'thing', or 'it', never by their name. Bakura never saw them as anything more than a toy, therefore their names were insignificant to him.

Bakura's hand twitched as he held up the dagger, while Ryou just looked terrified, his eyes darting from side to side in panic, trying to look for some source of help or escape. "Just let go of him you moron, I didn't say you're allowed to touch him!"

Marik grinned at that. "Never needed permission before." Truth be told, him and Bakura had often swapped slaves around in the past for various reasons, some were tighter, others gave better blow jobs. It all depended on what they felt like doing. Of course none of that mattered now. He just wanted to push Bakura enough to see if his suspicions were right. He had Malik-pretty, and his kitten meant the world to him. No one else could satisfy him more.

Slowly, Bakura lowered the dagger, and Marik felt certain that his suspicions were correct, and it looked as thought he was going to get off scot free with calling his brother small to.

Marik was wrong. Bakura gave a sinister smirk, and calmly walked to the side of the bed. The tanned brother watched him carefully, and gave him a puzzled look. When Bakura paused at Marik's side, Marik became a little wary.

Suddenly Bakura's hand shot out, and violently seized a handful of Marik's blond hair. The older brother yelped as he was roughly pulled off the bed and thrown to the floor.

"Cheater." Marik mumbled as he rubbed his sore scalp from the ground.

Bakura was just about to give Marik the beating of his life, when a pair of black leather trousers were thrown at his head.

"We don't have time for this. Put your clothes on and lets go." Yami said sternly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Damn blonde psycho, and his damn cat fetish." Mumbled an irritated Malik.

The three angels were once again in the dining hall, each sitting in front of a plate of odd coloured meat, that was apparently their food. The three rulers had left them in peace while they attended a meeting, and because there were no demons in the room to stare, hold, or grope them, it meant that the three could talk to each other without too much worry of being found out.

Each angel had moved to the same side of the table, and had sat closely together, each one of them feeling comfort in the others presence.

At the moment Malik was harshly tugging on the annoyingly large red bow tied neatly around his neck. Marik had managed to put him in a cat outfit again, though it was slightly different from the one he was wearing yesterday.

This one was more embracing.

He was wearing soft, furry, pink boots attached with small golden bells. Along his arms were a darker shade of pink ribbons, tied into smaller bows. His stomach was left bare, with his chest covered by a long piece of pink silk cloth that was tied tightly from the back, leaving the two ends to hang elegantly down to the back of his legs, looking like some sort of strange tube top. On his lower half he wore low cut shorts, that snugly hugged his hips. Then to top it all off he had two cat ears on his head, and a tail coming out from his shorts, both being the same colour of sandy blonde to match his hair.

And of course the overly large red bow around his neck…. Malik had never felt so humiliated.

"This is so degrading!" Malik said with a huff, giving up on trying to untie the bow around his neck, and letting his head hit the table surface in defeat.

Ryou sighed. His outfit wasn't much better. He was wearing a type of lacy red corset, with black trimming running along the bottom. His trousers were black leather that stopped just below his knees with long slits running up the outsides of his thighs. Around his hips was a plain rouge scarf tied to his right side, and on his ankles and wrists were solid gold bands. The colours stood out beautifully against his white skin, but it wasn't exactly an outfit meant for an innocent angel. Bakura probably felt more turned on if he wore these kind of clothes…

Ryou looked at the table sadly. Even when Bakura wasn't in the room, he was still plaguing Ryou's mind… what he did to him… what he will continue to do to him… Why was the demon so content in tormenting him?

"I don't see why we can't just wear are own clothes." Yugi said sadly, as he looked down at the clothes he was forced to wear.

A spiked collar was around his neck. His top was black with bands of rivets across the front and zips on the sleeves. Three large belts hung from his waist, covered with more silver spikes and studs. Lower down he wore black bondage trousers full of clips, straps and zips, and on his feet were heavy black laced up boots.

"I can't imagine what the Elders would say if they saw what we were wearing right now." Ryou whispered, trying to concentrate on something else, and push Bakura from his mind.

Malik let out a depressed sigh when hearing his friends sound so sad, it hurt him to know that Yugi and Ryou were upset, so he tried to cheer the mood up a little. He lifted his head from the table with a smirk. "No, but I can imagine what Jou would say if he saw **me** like this."

Ryou showed a faint smile at that, and Yugi let out a tiny giggle.

"I don't think you'd ever hear the end of it Malik." Said a smiling Yugi. Ryou nodded in agreement.

Malik's smirk broadened. "Which is exactly why you two can't tell him a thing about the clothes, when we get back home."

Yugi giggled again. "Now Malik would we do that?" He said with fake innocence, and an overly cute smile.

Malik rolled his eyes, the playful smirk still in place. "Of course not." He replied sarcastically.

All three of them laughed, and for a split second they were happy with the thoughts of home, and their friends that would be waiting there for them.

When the laughter had finished, Malik lazily leaned back in his chair, and stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder where that Mokuba kid is. He said he would take us to the lab today."

"That reminds me," Yugi suddenly said "why were you so keen on going to Mokuba's laboratory yesterday Malik?"

Malik's smirk quickly returned. "Because Yugi," Malik began "I have a plan."

Ryou's face brightened at that. For once Malik's sneaky nature was being put to good use. "What's you're plan Malik?" He asked politely.

The violet eyed teen leaned forward again, and gave his friends his full attention. "Well you see guys, there's no way we're going to get out of here without a little help."

"You mean from Mokuba?" Yugi asked a little worriedly. Mokuba seemed very nice, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go tell his brother if he knew their secret. They would be taking a big risk.

"Not exactly Yugi. The help we need are from Mokuba's potions."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You know we should just go ahead and do it. We don't need **their** permission." Bakura said grumpily, still half asleep from the early wake up call, as he and his brothers made their way towards the west wing of the castle, where the counsel members were waiting for them.

"Yeah, this is stupid." Marik said from beside Yami.

"We're not asking for permission." Yami correct them. "We're merely telling them what's going to happen."

"We shouldn't even need to do that." Marik said again. "Lets just get rid of them already."

A tiered sigh escaped Yami's lips. Why did he always have to have this same conversation with them? Every time it was, 'why can't we just kill them?', or 'what's the point in having those crazy old men around?'. Honestly, they made it sound as though he actually wanted to go to these meetings once a week, and listen to the never ending garbage that would come out of the counsellors mouths. "If we got rid of them, it would mean more of the responsibilities would be left to you two." Yami shuddered at that disturbing fact. " That is something I am not willing to bestow upon Hell. You two would have the entire demon race slaughter within a few days."

The younger brothers said nothing, though Bakura did hold a menacing, almost proud smirk, and Marik an insane grin, showing truth to Yami's words.

All too soon the rulers were standing outside the meeting room, and with a simple push of a door they were trapped in a room with, in their opinion, the most annoying people in all of Hell. The counsel members. The demon counsel were sitting at a long rectangular table. There were six of them in total, three sitting on the right side of the table, and another three sitting opposite them on the left side of the table. The demons were old, exactly how old the rulers weren't sure, nor did they care to find out, all they knew was that they had been with them for a long time, ever since the previous rulers were in command, and that was a good few hundred years ago.

Each member stood and bowed when the brothers entered the room, and only sat down again when the rulers took their seats. Yami sat at the head of the table, with Bakura and Marik sitting opposite each other like the counsel members, nearest to Yami.

The older demons almost immediately began their ranting.

"Lord Yami, I demand to know why we were not informed of Honda's and Anzu's execution! It was not even discussed!" A demon with short grey hair, and a lanky form said angrily.

"The topic did not need to be discussed, they were traitors, their punishments were inevitable." Yami replied back in a much calmer tone.

"With all due respect my Lord," another elderly demon snarled with disrespect "their crime was a very serious matter, the way you and your brothers carried the punishment out was pure stupidity!"

Bakura slammed his fists down onto the table in harsh fury, and the elderly demon was thrown into shaken silence. "Are you trying to say that are judgment was wrong fool?" Bakura replied darkly.

"O-of course not Lord Bakura." The demon stuttered out, his courage suddenly disintegrating, along with his defiance, now desperately trying to come up with an excuse to his crude outburst. "W-what I mean is-"

"What he means is" another counsel member came to his rescue, "that if the matter was discussed properly a better decision may have been made. They tried to assassinate the three rulers, they may have been apart of something much bigger in plotting your deaths. Maybe we should have tried getting information from them in case there was a bigger threat to you lives, instead of hastily putting them to death."

"You should be grateful that we bother discussing anything to you six at all." Marik added with distaste.

"What's done is done." Yami spoke again with seriousness. "We can't bring them back from the dead, so there is no point in arguing over the subject."

"But-"

"I said that's enough!" Yami shouted, and the counsel turned silent. "We have more important business to talk about, though it does still concern Honda and Anzu." The council listened with great interest, though they strangely looked a little nervous by it. "We have reason to believe there is an angel in Hell."

The old men nearly had a heart attack.

"What reason have you for believing this?" One man said, shock still present in his voice.

"Before there punishments began, they were… praying, right after saying that we will eventually end up dead. There actions clearly point to the angels."

Each counsel member looked to each other with worry. "My Lord they clearly sound mad." One counsel member reasoned. "The angels are weak creatures, they would not dare trespass into Hell."

"Be that as it may, I still think something needs to be done just in case."

"What do you suggest?" The demon with short grey hair said again.

"A search." Bakura answered.

"We have already briefed Seto on the matter, and he's agreed to start making a potion that will hopefully uncover an angel's wings." Yami explained more clearly. "Once the potion is successfully made the guards will be sent to gather every slave and bring them to the castle. They will be tested one by one in front of me and my brothers, as well as Seto, in case they are pretending to be human. This means the entrance Hall is off limits until the search is over, understand?" The ruler's voice was stern and cold, leaving no room for argument.

The counsel nodded dumbly.

"Good." Marik said with a happy grin, and then quickly stood. "Guess we'll be going then." Bakura and Yami stood, and started to follow Marik out.

"My Lords please wait! I think this needs to be discussed further! W-" The demon's complaint was cut short when a dagger whizzed past his face, lightly grazing his cheek, and then the door was slammed closed.

Inside the room the six demons looked to each other in a mix of anger, confusion, and worry. The demon with the now grazed cheek snarled at the door, touching his cheek lightly. "This is going to cause problems… he needs to be informed right away."

They all nodded in agreement.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh, for some reason I hate this chapter… Anyway, yes I know it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry, but until my last year of school is over, it's going to continue to be a struggle for me. Don't worry though I will not stop this story until it's done! As long as you all still want me to of course. I wanted to add a lot more in this chapter, but since it was taking so long for me to just get the chapter this far, I decided to stop it here, and then just put the rest in the next chapter, but if the chapter is a disappointment, then I could try editing it later. Just let me know ok?

Hope it wasn't too boring (I know it's not one of the most exciting chapters I've done so far, but it needed to be done), please forgive me! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

-1Thanks to my reviewers!

Serzie, TintAngel, yamisgirl13, seto'swifey, Rogue1979, bakura240, The Yaoi Pimpette, Shadows Casting Flames, FanFicFanGurl101, sympa, reedtard, kit

Chapter 10

"I don't like this."

After waiting a good thirty minutes in the dining hall, Mokuba had finally turned up, and was now leading Malik, Ryou, and Yugi to the laboratory. However in those thirty minutes, Malik was able to explain his plan to Yugi and Ryou. His two best friends didn't see the plan going as well as Malik did though.

"We're going to get caught." Yugi whispered again, being careful to keep his voice low, as to not let Mokuba hear. Mokuba, who was in front of the three, didn't seem to notice.

"You worry too much." Malik whispered back, dismissing his friends complaints, and being very calm while doing so. "All you and Ryou have to do is keep the kid distracted, while I get anything that might come in handy for us later."

"We don't know anything about Earth medicine, we would be telling him a bunch of made up lies. It's wrong, I won't do it." Ryou added firmly.

"Then don't tell him lies, tell him about the medicine in Heaven." Malik whispered back with a shrug.

Ryou and Yugi looked at him as though he was mad.

"Are you crazy? The Elders would be furious, we-"

"Look, don't tell him any **_big_** medical secrets, just tell him the simple things, stuff that won't drastically change his knowledge in medicine, but little things that could help him along the way so it won't look suspicious." Malik said quietly with a roll of his eyes.

Ryou could see that him and Yugi were fighting a losing battle, and sighed in defeat. Yugi gave him a desperate, almost pleading look to help change Mali's mind, but Ryou only shrugged, and shook his head with a sympathetic look on his face. "Are you sure he won't be able to tell the difference between ours, and Earths medicine Malik?"

"Hope not."

Yugi nearly tripped over his own feet. "Are you trying to say you don't know?! M-"

"We're here."

The angels quit their squabbling just in time to stop themselves from crashing into Mokuba's back. The four of them were standing in front of a large metal door with no handle, or obvious lock. To the side of it was a small key pad, where Mokuba typed in the code quickly to make the door slide open.

The room was spotless, with white tiled floors, and clean white walls. Along those walls were shelves full of potions, chemicals, and herbs. Stainless steel counters were everywhere, along with top of the range scientific equipment. A massive computer screen covered one wall, with the controls in the centre of the room.

"Wow…" Ryou gasped as he stepped into the lab.

"Pretty impressive huh?" Mokuba said proudly.

Yugi nodded in awe. "Very."

"Yeah it's nice." Malik said, giving the room a brief look, but wanting to move things along. "Shall we get started then?"

"Of course!" Mokuba chirped, and led the three over to a metal table, crowed with more bottles containing herbs and mixed chemicals. The angels looked over the bottles in wonder. Though they did recognise some of the herbs, there were many that they'd never seen before. The chemicals were a complete mystery to Yugi and Ryou, since angels rarely felt it necessary to use them in healing, preferring to use different methods instead.

Malik however knew them quite well.

Malik wasn't just known for his sneaky nature, and annual fights, but also for his successful pranks. Yes, Heaven had taken many beatings due to Malik's fun. Explosions in the training hall, floods, stink bombs, the list could go on and on. Many of these pranks however, wouldn't have been possible if not for Malik's careful preparation with chemicals. Many angels had considered it a shame really. If Malik wasn't so mischievous, he could have been a great scientist, and a helpful addition to Heavens research.

But of course Malik didn't care about that.

"Wow Mokuba, you have quite a collection." Ryou said impressed.

"Yep! Well you see my brother doesn't like us to be low on anything, so he always makes sure we have enough of everything. He sometimes even goes to Earth personally to collect the herbs we can't get in Hell. I mean, since there isn't a lot that grows down here…"

Mokuba's talking carried on, as Malik stealthily moved away from the table. Ok so Mokuba must have something worth taking to help them escape, right? The angel quietly started to search the room, and moved behind a long metal shelf unit. It was stacked with potions, but one in particular caught Malik's eye.

It was a thin rectangular bottle, very small, with a deep red liquid inside. Reaching out, he carefully picked the potion up, screwed off the tiny round lid, and brought it to his nose. As soon as he sniffed that unmistakable aroma, Malik instantly grinned. He'd used this potion before. It was like a smoke bomb, it could fill the room with a dark maroon mist, as soon as a drop hit the floor.

Deciding that it was worth taking, Malik quickly screwed the lid back on, and slipped the bottle into his large furry pink boot, since there was nowhere else he could hide it at the moment. He then took a glance back at Mokuba, Yugi, and Ryou, to see them still busily talking away, while pouring chemicals into a container.

Smirking, the tanned teen then made his way over to the other side of the room. Out on one of the counters was a glass cylinder containing an orange liquid, with crushed herbs laying next to it. Malik raised a brow, he wasn't too sure what this one was…. Malik looked at it dully, but picked it up anyway, and brought the cylinder closer. It looked harmless… Handling it a little more carelessly, Malik accidentally tilted it to the side, causing a small drop to fall onto his hand. Malik blinked in surprise as he watched his fingers quickly fade into nothing, then his palm, until it stopped at his wrist.

…. Where did his hand go?!

The blonde angel panicked, and shook his now invisible hand in the air franticly. He wanted his hand back! Damn it, he needed it back! Stupid creepy potion! But then, after some more complaining and swearing in his mind, his hand suddenly faded back into place.

Malik blinked again and shrugged, then poured the liquid into a bottle. The potion could be useful later, if they needed to hide.

"But Mokuba if you use this together with that herb, it can relax the body, and calm the mind down…" Ryou's voice said.

Ok, so Malik could take one more potion, seeing as he still had some time. His eyes landed on a light blue bottle. Malik picked it up gingerly, and screwed off the top. The smell faintly reminded him of gunpowder. Moving back behind one of the shelving units again so he was out of sight, Malik looked at the potion more carefully, on the side was a small label reading '_danger, highly explosive_'….The angel happily put the bottle into his other boot. He DEFFINATLY had to take that one.

"Hey Mokuba what's that?" Yugi said curiously as he stirred something together in a flask, while pointing to a large glass bowl, with a golden looking liquid inside, surrounded by a protective glass case.

Mokuba looked up and smiled. "Oh, that's the new potion Seto's been working on. It's not finished yet, but it should be soon."

Malik walked over to it, and peered through the glass. "Really? What's it do?"

Mokuba shifted awkwardly on the spot. "Well… actually I don't think I should be telling you guys…Seto wouldn't be happy if I did, in case you're…"

"We're what? Come on Mokuba, you can tell us. What's your brother making?" Malik said encouragingly, the potion sparking his interest. Maybe it was worth coming back and taking later?

"It's.. em… well…" Mokuba sighed, what was the harm in telling them? The odds of his three new friends being a threat were very slim. "It's… It's a potion to uncover an angels wings."

Malik suddenly made a choking noise, and pushed himself away from the glass, looking as though he just got a sharp slap across the face, where as Ryou's face just looked purely horrified.

He forgot. He forgot to tell Yugi and Malik what he heard the three brothers talking about while he was cleaning. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts of Bakura, that he forgot to warn his friends about them suspecting an angel in Hell, and now he felt incredibly guilty, and incredibly doomed. If only he told them earlier, maybe they could have done something sooner. Now however, it looked to be too late… the rulers were already planning on ways to find them.

Mokuba looked at them all worriedly. The three really didn't seem all that happy with what he just said. They even looked scared by it. "W-well you see, Yami, Bakura, and Marik think there might be an angel in Hell. They're just trying to get rid of the intruder, before they cause any trouble, so in about two days time, the rulers are planning to take every slave to the castle, and give each one of them the potion in a secure room." Of course this information didn't calm the angels nerves. "B-but listen! You don't guys don't need to be scared! It doesn't hurt! And anyway, you three probably won't even have to be put through it! I mean, didn't Bakura and Marik take you all from Earth themselves? That proves that you're humans." Mokuba smiled. "After all what would three angels be doing running around in the human world?"

The three slaves merely stared at him with dread, they didn't even blink. "M-Malik? Ryou?…Y-yugi?" Mokuba asked unsurely.

Yugi's yaw was open in terrified shock, since his mind went into a blank panic mode as soon as Mokuba said, 'a potion to uncover an angels wings.' "W-what?"

**BOOM!!!**

Yugi was so distracted from what he just heard, that he completely forgot about the potion in front of him, and suddenly it exploded into a mass of cloudy green smoke. Mokuba and Ryou managed to jump out of the way in time, but Yugi got the blast full in the face.

"Oh my gosh! Yugi are you ok?!" Ryou asked in panic, as he and Malik rushed to his side.

The small angel coughed and sputtered as the strange green fumes entered his nose and mouth, almost to the point of suffocation, as Yugi desperately gasped for much needed air. His head felt fuzzy, and he squeezed his eyes shut. A slow, quiet, pounding noise was echoing in his mind, almost like another heart beat. With each beat the noise got louder, and faster, until it got to the point where he felt as though his head would explode, just as the potion did.

But then, just when he thought he couldn't take any more, the noise stopped.

"_Yugi!"_

His body jolted, like experiencing an electric shock, and his eyes snapped open, pupils dilated, as he bent over and clutched his head. He knew that voice… didn't he?

--------Flashback-------

"Yugi!" A short old man with spiky grey hair, and a neat grey beard shouted to the boy who was now running away from him, and into a tiny hospital room.

"Mum! Mum!" Yugi called his mother desperately, as she laid there motionlessly on the bed, an oxygen mask strapped to her face, and the sound of the monitor beeping steadily with the dieing woman's heart beat.

The boy grabbed her hand, and cried out loud. "Don't go… please don't leave me… I love you, please…"

-------Flashback-------

"Yugi please! You know you can talk to me about anything! If you have a problem-"

"Grandpa I'm fine!" The small teen with large lilac eyes assured the older man, with a weak smile.

"Yugi, don't you lie to me. I know when you're lying, so please, just tell me what's wrong-"

"I SAID I'M FINE!!" Yugi suddenly screamed unexpectedly, and completely out of character.

------Flashback-----

"Hey."

Yugi was sitting at the back of the classroom, a pen in his hand as he doodled on a piece of paper, waiting for the teacher to arrive and take the register, when a tall girl with long red hair walked over to his seat shyly.

"Hello." Yugi replied back with a shy, but warm, smile on his face. A rush of happiness surging through him, at the thought of finally making a friend.

The girl smiled back. "My name's Layla, you're Yugi right? Are you ok?… I mean you never say much, but I was wondering-

"Hey Layla don't talk to that looser!" A boy shouted from across the room where he stood with his friends. "He's a pathetic, lonely little shrimp with no friends, come and talk to us instead!"

The boy felt as though someone just twisted a knife into his heart as he watched the girl walk away.

-------End flashbacks-------

The angel clutched his head tighter, and shook it violently. It was too much. Images where flashing before his eyes. Memories he's rather forget, filling his heart with sorrow and pain.

"You alright Yugi?" An arm was placed around his shoulders.

"I-I'm fine… I just got a headache." The spiky haired boy coughed out.

"I'll go get you some water." Mokuba said worriedly, and rushed from the room.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Malik asked again, his voice riddled with concern.

"Yeah Yugi, it doesn't look as though you're fine to me." Ryou said from Yugi's side.

"Really, I'm ok." Yugi said again, not wanting to worry his friends, especially when there were more important matters to deal with. "What are we going to do about the potion Seto is making?"

The other two angels frowned.

"We escape before they find out about us. Those three knuckle heads will be busy with the humans for hours, and I bet the guards will be with them, if us angels are that much of a threat. So while the rulers are out testing humans, we'll be making our escape."

"But what about all the demons outside?" Yugi asked again, his head still aching, but not allowing it to show.

"Don't worry, I picked up everything we'll need when you two had Mokuba distracted, but what I do want to know is how they figured out angels were in Hell. We didn't even do anything to tip them off about it!"

"I'm sorry." Yugi and Malik whipped their heads round to look at Ryou in confusion, as the pale angel continued. "I heard Bakura, Marik, and Yami talking about this yesterday when I was cleaning. They were talking about these people called Honda and Anzu. They tried to kill them with some sort of weapon made of pure light, but then Yami sounded troubled, saying that something wasn't right… said that Honda and Anzu prayed. Then he came up with the conclusion of an angel being behind it all…So you see it doesn't have anything to do with us, but if they find out who we really are…" Ryou looked away in shame, not able to finish the sentence, but the point was clear. "I-I should have told you both sooner, but the rulers were always there, and then-"

"Ryou it's ok." Yugi interrupted. "It's not your fault… but Honda and Anzu… I think Yami was talking about them yesterday with Seto. He said he had them executed," Yugi looked down to the floor sadly, the thought that Yami killed people hurt him more than it should "and that the council weren't happy about it."

"But is there another angel in Hell?" Malik asked his friends, feeling very confused.

"I-I don't know…" Ryou confessed truthfully. "But apparently Anzu and Honda weren't smart enough to know how to use white magic, and I know very few demons are able to handle it. So if another demon didn't help them, then that only leaves an angel…"

Malik shook his head. "It doesn't matter. None of this concerns us, if there is another angel here, then we'll tell the Elders when we get back home, and come up with a plan to rescue them."

As soon as the sentence was said, speech seemed to fly out the window, and an unwelcome silence broke out. Were they really going to get home?

"What if… what if the rulers take us with the rest of the humans for testing?.. If that happens…"

Another pause.

"They won't." Was all Malik said, and before anything could be added, Mokuba made his presence known once more.

"I'm back!" Mokuba said, running into the room, with a cup of water in his hands, then skidding to a halt in front of Yugi. "Hear Yugi, you're sure you feel ok?" Mokuba offered the cup with a smile.

"Thank you Mokuba, and yes I'm fine now." Yugi replied with his own grateful smile, while he took the cup handed out to him. Though in reality he was lying through his teeth.

"Anyway, we should really be getting back to our chores now Mokuba. We'll see you later ok?"

"Sure, and thanks for the help by the way, I really did learn a lot." The young demon said with a grateful grin. "See you guys later!"

The angels calmly left the laboratory, and sighed in relief when the large metal door slid shut behind them.

"Two days, and then we're out of here?" Ryou whispered.

Malik nodded. "Two days."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh, ya better be right about this Otogi." Both guard and guardian angel had been flying for hours none stop. Heaven was a big place, and it was taking them a while to reach the Elder's. "I bet Ryou, Yugi, and Malik are already back home by now!"

Otogi rolled his eyes from where he flew by Jou's side. "Stop complaining, we're nearly there."

"Ya said that half an hour ago! My wings hurt!- OW! DAMN IT, STOP PUNCHING MY ARM!!" The blonde yelled furiously, glaring at the raven haired angel murderously, while putting a hand over his, one again, aching arm.

"Well listen to me and stop complaining, then maybe I'll stop punching your arm!" Otogi shouted back, with his own glare. "Look." Otogi directed the blondes vision to the scene in front of them. Sure enough, there in the distance, was a staircase, leading up to a building made of white stone. The windows and doors were trimmed with gold, and pillars stood tall and glorious beside the grand archway that waited to greet them.

"It looks… big." Jou said a little nervously.

Otogi rolled his eyes again, but smiled.

Soon the two angels reached the wondrous building formed of pure white, and made their way inside. This was the place where the Elders lived, and their doors were always open to their fellow angels. They were kind, and forgiving people, and would never push an angel in need away. However, that did not mean they would put up with disseat, and lies. They may have kind hearts, but that didn't mean they wouldn't give fitting punishments, for unspeakable crimes

"So where's this Pegasus guy then?" Jou asked, wanting to get this over and done with. He really didn't think they needed to inform the Elders about this. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik probably just went to explore for a while. Hell, if he wasn't a guard, then he would have gone and done the same thing. After all, only the guardian angels were lucky enough to make trips down to Earth. He wouldn't even be surprised if his three lost friends preferred staying on Earth then Heaven. He at least knew that Malik would agree to staying on Earth and never coming back. That idiot was always bored here… Poor humans won't know what hit them.

Otogi was about to reply, when a young woman with short blonde hair, and kind green eyes entered the room. "May I be of assistance gentleman?"

"Um, yes. We were wondering if it was possible to speak with Elder Pegasus?" Otogi replied politely.

The woman smiled. "Certainly. Please follow me."

Otogi and Jou were led down one of the many corridors, Otogi admiring the sculptures and art work as they past, while Jou was looking down, and nervously twiddling his thumbs together. This entire place intimidated him. He knew it shouldn't, but he was just so worried about doing something stupid by mistake.

"Jou! Watch were you're-"

**SMASH**

"Uh…oops?" Without taking notice of where he was going, Jou had walked right into a tall vase that was against the wall. See, this was how easy it was for Jou to make a fool of himself, and he'd barely been a minute!…It's not fair…. "I'm really sorry miss! I'll-"

"Please don't worry about it, I'll get someone to clean it up in a moment. Excuse me for a minute."

The woman then entered one of the rooms, closing the door behind her, while Jou and Otogi waited in the hallway. Mumbling was heard from the other side of the door, and then the woman came out into the hallway again, this time opening the door for Jou and Otogi, and gesturing them to go inside. "Elder Pegasus will see you now."

"Thanks." Both visitors said in unison, and they stepped into the room, the door closing behind them.

The room was lightly furnished, with cream coloured walls, and dark oak flooring. One wall was covered completely with shelving, it being filled with books and scrolls. Standing beside the overly large bookcase, was a man holding a scroll. He had long, straight, silver hair that managed to cover is left eye, and wore simple white robes.

"Welcome gentleman, I'm Pegasus. May I ask for your names?" The Elder said cheerfully.

Jou blinked. This guy was an Elder?

"I'm Otogi Ryuji, and this is Jounouchi Katsuya." Otogi answered "We're here because three of our friends have gone missing."

"I see." Pegasus replied more seriously.

"We think they might have gone down to Earth. We thought they'd come back after an hour or so, but it's been days, and they still haven't returned. We're worried that they might have gotten hurt or lost." The guardian angel said in concern.

"You both realise that leaving Heaven without permission is against the rulers, correct? What happened to the guard?"

"The dummy didn't do his job properly, and ended up knocking himself unconscious."

"HEY!" Jou cried insulted.

"So you're the guard that left his post unattended?" Pegasus asked accusingly.

"What? No!- I mean yes- I mean… sorry sir…" The guard looked to the floor in embarrassment. What was he suppose to say? They were both ganging up on him!

The Elder sighed and shook his head. "No, accidents will happen after all. I will send a search out for your friends right away, there should be some angels off duty that I can send, to locate their auras and bring them back."

"Thank you so much Elder! We're very grateful." The ebony haired guardian said thankfully. Jou nodded his thanks, still a little red in the face.

"Think nothing of it boys. Is there anything else?"

"There not gonna be in trouble when ya find them are they…?" Jou asked suspiciously.

Pegasus sighed again. "What they did was wrong, and against the rules. They will need to be punished," Jou glared at Otogi angrily "but it will be something minor. You both did the right thing in telling me." The Elder assured.

"Thank you sir." Otogi replied proudly, ignoring the glare he was getting from Jou. "If you will excuse us now though, I'm needed back on Earth soon to check on one of my charges, and Jou needs to return to guard duty, now that he's out of the hospital."

"Of course. Take care boys!"

The Elder watched the two angels leave the room, his smile still in place, until they went through the door. He listened to the footsteps gradually get fainter…

And then he slammed the door close.

A frustrated snarl crossed the man's face, and he threw the scroll he was holing across the room. The two wooden poles that were wrapped in the scrolls paper snapped as they hit the wall, then laid broken on the floor.

He didn't have time for lost angels. It would be easier to just say they were dead, instead of bothering to waste time finding them.

The silver haired angel fell back into a chair, and glared at the door with hatred, his thoughts considering different ways to let off some steam. Maybe that blonde idiot would fall through the door… that Jounouchi boy didn't look too smart…

Swirling black shadows suddenly rushed to the middle of the room, creating a black smoky spear. Pegasus stared at it wearily, as it grew in size, and stretched itself to look like a mirror. An image was seen in the centre, showing six, very old looking, demons.

"What?!" Pegasus asked snappily.

Each demon winced at the Elder's tone, but a lanky looking demon with grey hair, forced himself to speak up. "Master Pegasus, I'm afraid we have some rather bad news…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh my god, I HATE school! I failed my math exam, and so next week I have to take a re sit, and-…. Never mind… at least it's my last year… Anyway back to the story, anyone see that coming? I bet most of you did. Sorry for the wait, and I hope this chapter was more interesting than the last one! Also, I know some of you are wanting Yami and Yugi's relationship to move a little faster, so next chapter will have some YamixYugi.

Please REVIEW and let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

-1Thanks to my reviewers!

bakura240, seto'swifey, Rogue1979, tavi, FanFicFanGurl101, Mittzy

Chapter 11

The aged demon cringed fearfully, taking a step back, at the cold death glare he was receiving from Pegasus.

"Talk." The Elder said from the other side of the black mirror, his voice strict with impatience.

"The rulers have grown suspicious of angels meddling in their business… we fear that our plan will be found out!" The demon replied back with panic.

"I am to assume that Anzu and Honda failed then?" Pegasus asked, as he gripped the armchair, in disappointed rage.

"I'm afraid they were caught before they were able to carry the assassination through. It was too difficult from them, and the rulers put them to death without a second thought… they were praying for you to save them before they died, Master Pegasus…" Another grey haired demon answered.

Pegasus sat there for a moment, simply going over the information he was given. A crooked smirk slowly found it's way to the Elder's face, and his grip on the armchair loosened. "How pathetic." Pegasus mused. "If the rulers didn't kill them, then I would have enjoyed punishing them myself. I do not tolerate failure." He said with a powerful amount of spite.

"B-but Master Pegasus, because they prayed, the rulers now seem to think that angels are in Hell! They are going to announce a search to the entire kingdom soon, forcing every slave to be brought to the castle!"

"So let them search, it's not as though they will find one." Pegasus said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the subject easily.

"But that's exactly it sir!" The lanky demon said again with haste. "They expect to find an angel, if they don't, then they will start to think their own kind is betraying them!" Pegasus raised a brow, not really seeing this as a threat, and so the demon quickly continued. "You showed Anzu and Honda how to wield white magic, only powerful and experienced demons know how to do that! It will lead the rulers to suspect there own council!"

Pegasus laughed cruelly. "Powerful? You six? I don't think so, however you six are some of the more experienced demons in Hell… it could cause problems for me if the rulers suddenly decided to kill you all for betrayal… you aren't completely worthless after all. " The Elder stood from his seat, and walked back over to the wall of books and scrolls, his back facing the mirror floating in the middle of the room, so the council was unable to see his face, seeming to look for something. "So what do you propose I do? Send an angel on a suicide mission to Hell?" His voice was calm and even, making the demon council feel more nervous by the second.

Each demon looked to each other with wide, scared eyes. The Elder wanted an answer, but they were terrified of answering it wrong. "T-there d-doesn't seem to b-be any other way-"

A heavy book had been thrown directly at the speaking demons head, and although the book was not able to reach him, he still ducked on reflex as it passed through the mirror, while the other demons merely flinched when hearing it hit the opposite wall loudly.

Pegasus scowled at them, and drew back his hand. "No angel is stupid enough to-" but then he stopped, his thoughts trailing back to the two boys that only minutes ago, were asking for his help. Otogi was out of the question, if he were to suddenly go missing people would notice, since he guessed by the word 'charge' that he was a guardian angel. That Jounochi however was a lowly guard….

"How long until the search starts?"

The demons blinked at the sudden mood swing. "The potion they are working on is to force an angels wings out from their backs, but it won't be finished for another two days. The rulers can't start the search without it."

"Two days…" Pegasus whispered to himself, then after a slight pause he continued. "I wouldn't worry about being found out." The Elder smirked again. "If the rulers want an angel, then I intend to give them one."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're getting slow in your old age Yami."

Yami growled warningly, at the smug smirk his younger sibling held.

Both brothers were each holding a sword. The youngest ruler's sword had a broad blade, engraved with the demonic symbols of death, blood, and forsaken. The handle was made of strong solid silver, with the ends curved down into sharp points towards the blade. Yami's sword was a little slimmer and lighter, but just as strong. The blade was long and sharp. His swords handle was straight and golden, encrusted with red gems.

The crimsoned eyed demon was bent back slightly in a defensive stance, while holding off the attack his brother was forcing upon him. "It doesn't matter how old I get, you'll still never be able to beat me Bakura."

Bakura's smirk widened. "I beg to differ."

"Stop talking and fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!" Marik whined from the sideline, swinging his sword to get the point across to his two brothers. Marik loved the training sessions he shared with Yami and Bakura. It was the only time he and Bakura could try killing each other without Yami's annoying yelling for them to stop. It also allowed him and Bakura to annoy the hell out of Yami. The training session in which Marik dubbed as 'play time', also allowed the three brothers to stay in shape, since no other demon would dare spare with them.

With a determined grunt of effort, Yami managed to over power Bakura's attack, and push him back, he charged forward, blade raised, and swung it down on his white haired victim. Bakura barley had time to block it. The two brothers were now in the exact same position as before, except with Yami having the upper hand instead of Bakura.

Marik pouted in annoyance. "This is boring! How am I suppose to fight the winner, if you two keep having standstills? Start fighting!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Bakura roared angrily at Marik, feeling just as annoyed as Marik was. There was no way he was going to lose to Yami! Seeing Yami's stomach, he quickly lifted his knee, and slammed it into the unguarded opening.

Yami pulled back and winced, giving Bakura enough time to knock him to the ground.

"Finally!" Marik said dramatically, with a big grin.

Yami automatically flung his foot forward at Bakura's ankles, pleased to see Bakura tumble to the ground just as he did. However, he wasn't pleased that Bakura tumbled right on top of him.

Bakura smirked, and held his sword against his brothers throat, as he sat on Yami's chest. "You're making this too easy Yami, you're being very careless."

Marik blinked. "Yeah Yami, you seem distracted." Although Bakura meant it mockingly, Marik meant his statement with complete seriousness.

"It's because he hasn't fucked his little toy yet." The white haired demon said with sadistic spite. "He won't even touch the twerp!"

Marik grinned playfully. "Yami's sexually frustrated!" He said in a sing song voice.

Anger suddenly exploded through Yami's system, and he roared furiously, using he tail to grab Bakura from behind, and forcefully throw him off his body, then quickly picked himself up from the floor. "What I do with my slave is none of your business!" The ruler shouted to his younger brothers, sword raised once more.

"Exactly what I'm talking about. You don't **_do_** anything with him." Bakura replied back, as he jumped to his feet.

"Yami doesn't like mini-Yami?" Marik asked curiously.

Bakura laughed cruelly. "No! High and mighty Yami likes him **_too _**much!" He then glanced at Yami's angered face. "Really brother, your slave holds more control over you than you think. It's pathetic."

"Watch what you say Bakura." Yami snapped back with a growl. "My authority overrules yours. I have the most power over Hell because I was the first born, no one controls me! I control them!"

"You keep thinking that." Bakura replied back in a mockingly sweet tone of voice.

Before another insult could be said, the sound of hard steel, echoed throughout the room, as Yami lunged forward at Bakura, attacking none stop with lightning fast speed. So fast in fact, that Bakura was having trouble blocking them, and was slowly being pushed into a corner. However, instead of panicking like any other normal person would when being in this situation, Bakura only laughed.

"So it is true isn't it?" The younger demon laughed out amused. "The twerp's got you wrapped round his little finger." He smirked. "How sad. The all powerful Yami has been forced into submission…and by a human no less! Not exactly a good image for a great ruler."

The older sibling roared again, horns revealed, and fangs hissing for blood, as he swung for Bakura's head. He ducked the almost 'execution by guillotine' swing, but because he ducked Yami was able to get him an easy kick in the face, that made him fall flat on his back.

The battle stopped with a blade being pointed at Bakura's neck.

The two brothers stared at each other. Bakura with a calm, but mocking leer, and Yami with a livid glare, where as Marik simply watched the scene play out in front of him, with amused eyes.

"You're wrong Bakura."

Bakura said nothing, only smirking to infuriate Yami further.

The ruby eyed demon couldn't take it any more, he threw his sword to the floor, and stomped out of the room, turning his back on his two brothers before he ended up doing something he may regret later.

Marik giggled as he watched Yami leave the room in a strop. "You're so mean to him Bakura!"

Bakura simply stood, and rolled his eyes. "Of course I am." Bakura spat. "After all, what are brothers for?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----Flashback-----

"Yugi… I'm sorry, I know how much this means to you. If I could come home I would but-"

"Grandpa don't worry about it." Yugi was standing in the kitchen, the phone pressed to his ear, as he slumped against the wall, holding in a depressed sigh at the news his grandpa was giving him. "I'll be ok."

"I'll make it up to you Yugi, I promise."

Yugi smiled sadly, at the horrible guilt he could hear in the old man's voice. His grandpa really did love him, but with them being so short on money, it was really no surprise when hearing him having to work over time. Yugi wouldn't have minded it really, he was only trying to keep his grandson happy with a roof over his head… It was the distance he hated. His grandpa was an archaeologist. Right now he was in Egypt…

"I love you Yugi, see you soon."

"Love you to Grandpa. Bye." Hanging up the phone, the small boy lowered his head and sighed.

Looks like he would be alone again for at least another week…...Alone….. He didn't know how much more he could take of that…

-----End flashback-----

The small boy slammed his own back into the wall, not caring if he hurt himself or not, if it would only distract him from the pain in his head. Slowly, he slid down to the floor, fists grasping his hair harshly, with his face scrunched up in a pained expression.

He, Ryou, and Malik, had been forced to return to their chores as soon as they stepped out of the laboratory. It had been hard to do the chores properly, since his head still throbbed, and the pain only seemed to worsened after the chores were finished. Now he was back in his master's chamber, holding his head in a vain attempt to make the pain go away.

His head hurt so much! Whatever that potion did to him, the effects still hadn't worn off, and the worse the headaches got, the more images seemed to flash before Yugi's eyes. He knew what they were…

Memories.

There was no other explanation for it. The potion was doing something to his mind. He remembered being so sad when he first came into Heaven, and didn't have any recollection of his past life. He'd always put a smile on though, there was no point dwelling on something that would never change, but secretly, deep down in his heart, there was a growing pain… he just never really understood how much it was hurting him until now. Question was, was the pain in his heart there because of the times in longer to remember?

…Or was it because his heart was fighting to keep the memories forgotten?

Yugi shook his head. He couldn't take this anymore, he wanted it to stop!

"Stop it!" He shouted to himself, but he couldn't help thinking there was a person right in front of him, cackling away wickedly at his own misery for twisted humour. "Leave me alone!"

There was another pounding noise growing in the depths of Yugi's mind, but slightly different from before. Instead of a heart beat, it sounded more like…footsteps…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yami cursed to himself. Damn his brothers! Damn them to the deepest, darkest corner of Hell! He should have them banished! Banished to live among the mortals they couldn't stand up on Earth! Though there did seem to be some exceptions to their 'hate all humans' rule… No maybe not to Earth then, there may be a small chance of them being happy there…

Heaven! Yes Heaven! He should hand his thick headed brothers over to the angels! Let them rot for eternity in a cage, restrained by shackles and chains, and even if the angels thought such a punishment to be below them, his brothers would still be contained in a world where their lives would be meaningless, among the beings they loathed.

They dissevered it! How dare they question his leadership! Yug- no, his **_slave _**did not control him! The human belonged to him, not the other way round!

The fuming ruler made his way to his room. At least there he could brake a few things without anyone bothering him. Hopefully, he could lock himself in there for a while, and when he came out, his brothers would be annoying the life out of someone else, and forget all about him.

Finally reaching his chamber, Yami stepped into the room, and locked the door behind him, mumbling about 'idiot brothers' as he did so. He didn't want Bakura and Marik to suddenly come charging in for round two.

But then he heard a whimper.

Snapping his head round, his eyes met the huddled body pressed into the corner of the wall. Noticing the spiked tricolour hair, he instantly recognized it to be his slave. Yugi's eyes were shut, his teeth were clenched, and in each of his hands was a fist full of spiky hair.

Yami's anger subsided slightly at the sight, and he cautiously took a step forward. "Yugi?" He said in a mix of confusion, and worry.

"Just leave me alone!" Yugi half screamed, half sobbed.

Yami blinked, a little taken back by the sudden outburst. This was the same quiet, kind boy he saved from becoming Bakura's dart board? Yami's temper started to rise again, and Bakura's words from before started to creep into his mind. Was Yugi… ordering him about?… like a common servant?!

Before Yami's anger managed to reach it's peak however, the ruler took a shaky breath to keep his frustration at bay. Surly he was mistaken? Yugi was skittish and shy, he wouldn't dare give **_him_** a command. Bakura was wrong… What he said was wrong!

"Yugi-"

"Stop it! I said leave me alone!!"

Or maybe he was right.

Furiously, Yami dashed forward, and seized his slave by the collar, pulling him, none too gently, to his feet.

The poor angel gasped, and struggled to get out of his captors hold. What was going on?! What was happening?! No, his head! His head was hurting! Stop! Make it stop!

Yami growled and tightened him grip. "You will LISTEN to-"

"Make it stop! Get away! Let me go! LET ME GO!!!" The boy cried in panic his eyes were still shut, and his mind was foggy. He just wanted the pain to go away. Why wasn't the pain going away?!

The crimson eyed demon slammed his tail on the floor, swinging it widely and angrily in his blind rage, another growl emitted from his throat, this time louder. Yami didn't understand Yugi's behaviour. Was he too kind to the human? Was Yugi's personality fake? He was obviously not the quiet boy Yami thought him to be. Well fine. If Yugi wanted to act like a spoilt brat, he would just have to face the consequences and be punished for it!

And Yami knew just what the punishment was going to be. For too long had he simply admired Yugi's body from afar, too scared to touch him in case it caused the sweet boy to brake.

Well now the truth seemed to be out, and Yugi was far from sweet.

The angel was roughly thrown backwards, barley missing the floor, as the bed thankfully managed to cushion his fall. Before Yugi could register what was happening, and scramble off the bed, Yami was bent over him, keeping his body pinned down.

"Do you understand why I'm doing this?" The demon hissed, while unbuttoning the teen's shirt, and pulling it from the boy's body carelessly. Much to Yami's frustration Yugi did nothing, he wasn't even moving, probably from shock. "Open your eyes and answer me." He ordered, demanding the slave to obey.

And obey Yugi did. As soon as those lilac orbs became visible to the world again, Yami stopped…

Yugi was crying. It wasn't from shock, hate or anger. No. It was something else. He looked lost… afraid… confused…

…Lonely…?

Yami was lost for words, just that one glance made the ruler feel incredibly guilty. Those eyes really did hold some control over him… no matter how many times the ruler wished to deny it. "Yugi… I'm so-"

For the third time in less than three minutes, the demons words were cut off by his younger look-a-like. This time however, it was not by some screaming command, but by frail arms suddenly clinging tightly around his waist, shocking Yami completely.

What was he suppose to do? Why was Yugi hugging him? Did he not realise he was about to be raped? Was he really that naïve?…What happened to his bratty attitude?

Awkwardly, the ruler slowly sat up, the boy still holding onto him desperately, and crying quietly, with his face pressed into the rulers chest. Was Yugi crying because of him? But then why latch onto him? Yami gave up, he was thoroughly confused. The only way he was going to figure any of this out was by asking his slave, but Yugi looked to be in no state for giving answers. He obviously wanted comfort.

A little unsurely, the demon wrapped his arms around Yugi's small body, his hands resting on his naked back. The demon shivered slightly at the contact. The boy had such soft, flawless skin. It felt like silk on his fingertips, and his hands itched to feel more of it.

The ruler made small circular motions with his hand, gently caressing the skin he was aching to touch, while at the same time calming Yugi's nerves.

Yugi hiccupped slightly, as his tears soaked his master's shirt. When he felt someone's hands on his back it startled him, but when feeling the beginning of a gentle massage, he instantly started to calm down. He enjoyed it, and it managed to sooth him back into closing his eyes, only a few tears now leaking from the closed eyelids. His head still hurt, it was like a dull thump, and he was still a little confused to what was going on around him, but he was slowly beginning to relax.

The corners of the rulers lips twitched into a small adoring smile. Yugi looked almost at peace in his arms, and although he wasn't completely happy with admitting it, he enjoyed having him there. Maybe now he could try getting some answers out of hi-… wait… what was that?

While tenderly rubbing Yugi's back, Yami had stopped when feeling two circular lumps, just under the shoulder blades. They didn't feel big, but they were defiantly there. Curiously, the older look-a-like peeked over Yugi's shoulder, but he saw nothing. The rulers brows furrowed in confusion, and carefully touched under the shoulder blades again. There! He could feel them again, but…. still couldn't see them? What was going on?

Suddenly the lilac eyed teen moaned, and his grip on the taller twin tightened. Yami immediately pulled his hands back at the unfamiliar sound coming from the boy's lips. The loss of contact only caused Yugi to whimper.

A devilish grin appeared on Yami's face, similar to that you might see Marik have when he got a new slave, or when Bakura found a new reason to torture someone. However, Yami's reason for grinning like a fool was quite different. He'd found one of Yugi's little secrets. Tenderly, the demon started rub one the sensitive round lumps, emitting yet another pleasured moan. The demon's grin only widened.

If only Yami knew what this 'little' secret actually meant, then maybe he wouldn't be grinning, but the ruler's mind was obviously on other things at the moment.

But should the ruler really take advantage of the younger, when he was obviously grieving? An annoyed sighed echoed through Yami's mind. Since when did he have such a strong conscience? He wasn't even aware of having one in the first place!… Maybe he should just settle for holding him a while… to be truthful, he was very worried about Yugi's strange behaviour… he wanted to know why Yugi was so upset… he didn't like to see him so sad…

The body in his arms shifted slightly, and large amethyst eyes blinked up at him, blood red orbs stared back. The angel was confused, he couldn't see properly. It was like… like staring into rippling water… the images just seemed stretched, and out of focus. Who was holding him? Red…. He saw red. Two right lights? No, but something that seemed to shine just as bright. It wasn't Ryou…and it didn't look to be Malik.

"…L-Lord Yami?"

"Yes little one, it's me."

The words were spoken softly, and Yugi smiled. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought he heard a small amount of care in the ruler's voice. The ache in his heart seemed to disappear a little at that. Actually, now that he thought about it, he was starting to feel a whole lot better. Before Yami found him, both his head and heart hurt. He remembered thinking about Grandpa… then he just got this feeling of being completely lost, like stumbling into a labyrinth by mistake, and not knowing how to get out again.

But then Yami came, and it was as though… he carried him back to the exit….

"Yugi… are you ok now?" The rulers voice was barley above a whisper, as though scared to speak too loudly in case he startled Yugi back into tears.

The small teens vision began to clear, and it was then that he realised, just how close to the ruler he was, how close their bodies were pressed against each other, how close their faces were…how close their lips were to touching… Those enticing red eyes seemed to draw the boy in, diving into pools of, not blood, but enchantment. Then before Yugi realised what he was doing, he had closed the already close gap completely, with the feeling of soft lips against his own.

There was a slight hesitation from the other at first, but it barley lasted a second. The demons arms embraced the younger tightly, holding onto him almost desperately, not allowing the angel to have any second thoughts of pulling back. The demon simply would not let him if he tried, but the angel had no intention of moving away.

The angel's eyes slid closed at the feeling of a tongue brushing hungrily against his lower lip, not really asking for permission, but more of a last minute warning, before he forced his tongue into his slave's sweet tasting mouth. Yami couldn't help himself. Now that he had Yugi in the very situation he wanted him in in the first place, it was impossible for him to stop. The annoying musing he had been fighting against before had been completely destroyed.

Yugi had started this, but Yami would be the one to finish it.

The lilac eyed teen was pushed back into soft sheets, the demon's mouth still not willing to be removed yet, as it's probing tongue explored every inch of the angel's warm cavern. The angel's breath hitched at the sudden intrusion, having no choice but to submit to the dominated kiss.

But that in no way meant that he didn't enjoy it.

The need for air came all too soon, and regretfully, Yami pulled away, latching his eager mouth onto his slave's neck instead. Gentle nips and licks trailed down Yugi's throat, slowly travelling lower, stopping to tease the sensitive nipples that screamed at the demon for some attention. Fangs lightly touched one of the vulnerable pink nubs, followed by another tasteful nip. Yugi squirmed and arched his back, a pleasurable moan escaping through his lips, as he fought to catch his breath. Again the demon's wet muscle slipped from his mouth, circling the nipple slowly and lightly, then ending the torturous game with a toying tug with his teeth, his hand having already found the other pink nub, as he pinched, and rolled it between his fingers.

Yugi's breathing came out in harsh breaths, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"Do you want me Yugi?" The demon murmured against the now slightly swollen skin, beginning to trail kisses down his chest. "Tell me. Tell me that you want me. Tell me that you NEED me."

Yugi's thoughts were a blur, he just couldn't seem to think straight. The ruler was making him feel things he had never felt before. It was strange…no, exciting. It felt good, no more than that, it felt… it felt… he didn't even know how to describe it! The question Yami spoke of only just managed to reach his hazy mind. But what should he do?

The boy's fuzzy mind was clearing in a sudden rush, only now was he really aware of what was going on.

What he had brought on himself.

What was he doing?! He couldn't really let this happen… could he? NO! Of course he couldn't! He had to try and stop this before it got any further!

Even… even if his heart was telling him otherwise…

"L-Lord Y-Yami, I-" He cut himself off with a loud gasp, after feeling a hand brush suggestively against his lower regions, and a tongue dip into his navel. Those simple actions changed his words dramatically, before Yugi could even stop himself. "-Yes!"

"Say it…"

"I- I need you! Please!!"

And that was all Yami needed to hear.

Clothes went flying into the air, as Yami tore them form his own, and Yugi's, bodies. He knew he was rushing, but he couldn't help it! It felt like he'd been waiting for this moment for eons! He wasn't going to waste time letting Yugi change his mind. However when he had finished stripping the boy beneath him, his action paused, and he found himself staring, admiring the supple body that he would soon mark his, and his alone.

The angle blushed in embarrassment, and nervously averted his eyes. Lord Yami was magnificent, which only caused Yugi's bright red blush to deepen. He couldn't help but feel…puny compared to such a creature.

Feeling bad, and beginning to shy away, Yugi blindly began reaching his hands out in hopes of finding something to cover his naked form, only to have Yami stop him.

"Beautiful…" The demon whispered, looking slightly dazed, his wondering eyes finally resting on Yugi's blushing face.

Confused purple eyes widened in surprise. Beautiful? The ruler thought he was beautiful? "T-Thank you." He replied with a shaky breath, not really sure how to answer. "Y-You look n-nice to."

The demon chuckled at the response, bending down close, The human really was innocent beyond words. "Glad to know you approve." He purred, and seductively grazed his hand along Yugi's erect member. Yugi shuddered at the touch, and threw his head back a little, letting out a sharp gasp as he felt it being grabbed, and moaning as the ruler began pumping him slowly.

Fingers were felt against the angels lips, causing Yugi to open his eyes a little, unsure of what the demon wanted him to do.

"Suck." Yami answered simply, his other hand still pumping him, stopping only for a second to drag his tongue over the aroused head.

The boy squirmed, and quickly took his look-a-like's fingers into his mouth, sucking on them gently, and rolling his tongue against the tips. The ruler bit back a moan, but when he thought they were wet enough, he forced himself to remove his fingers from the young boy's lips.

"This may hurt a little, but it needs to be done, ok?"

Yugi nodded a little unsurely, but instantly tensed when feeling a finger suddenly thrust into his entrance. The boy couldn't help but let out a small hiss of pain.

"Relax… it will hurt more if you keep yourself tense like this." Yami's comforting voice said, pumping his slave a little faster in hopes of keeping his mind off the pain.

Slowly, Yugi relaxed again, forcing himself not to tense as he felt another finger prodding into his entrance, followed by a scissoring motions as his muscle was stretched. The lack of comfort however was still shown clearly on Yugi's face.

A light touch of lips was placed gently upon Yugi's forehead, in a chaste, but comforting kiss, and fingers were eased out of his entrance. "I'm sorry Yugi." The ruler apologised, eager or not, Yami didn't want to see the boy in pain… was he caring more than he should? "I promise this will all start feeling good soon, the pain will go away quickly."

Again Yugi nodded to show that he was listening, not able to find his voice just yet. Though in truth, Yugi wasn't sure what the ruler was explaining to him, but he trusted Yami… didn't he?

A scream was torn violently from the angels throat. Oh God it hurt! It hurt almost as much as his head did! Something had been shoved into his body quickly, making it sting as dreadfully as a knife wound. Was this meant to feel good? But how could it? How could Lord Yami expect him to feel pleasure from this?

Yami waited, resisting the urge to simply thrust in and out of the younger madly, as soon as he felt that blissfully tight heat engulf his man hood. As torturing waiting was, he needed Yugi to get comfortable to his size.

"I-It hurts…"

Yami showed a sad smile at his slave's upset whisper. "I know, it's ok…I promised it will feel better soon remember?"

And it was true. Soon Yami had begun thrusting in and out slowly, not wanting to cause Yugi any added pain, but after a moment or so Yugi had unknowingly pleaded for Yami to go faster in his faze of ecstasy, to which Yami had gladly complied to. That night was beautiful, one that neither Yami, nor Yugi, could ever forget. It was pure passion, mixed with seductive whispers, fiery touches, and pleasure filled cries. Yami's heart was content, and now cleared of stress or anger, he just felt… at peace, like for once he knew he had done something right.

However there was one question that plagued the rulers mind, which was why at this very moment he was not sleeping.

It wasn't lust was it?…No. His feelings for Yugi were not the usual Master to slave feelings. He cared for Yugi more than that, and he could see that clearly, there was no point in tormenting himself any longer by denying it… but if it wasn't lust…then what was it?

But as the ruler looked down at the one now sleeping peacefully in his arms, looking so innocent and happy, the answer had come to him as sudden as a bolt of lightning, finally shocking his once lifeless and one track minded heart, back into the wondrous adventure of the living.

"Love…"

And with that thought in mind, the ruler finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, feeling content and happy…

...so happy in fact, that he failed to notice the small clump of white feathers poking out from Yugi's back…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's about time I finally got this chapter up! Sorry for the long wait. Been busy, had my mock exams this week… ugh, my advise is to never take business studies at school, you get loads of essays, and the work is really hard. Damn business studies exam tomorrow… Anyway, back to the story. As you can see this chapter focuses on Yami and Yugi's relationship, so I hope the YamixYugi fans like it. Also, the bumps on Yugi's back (invisible to the naked eye, but still there) are to do with the two orbs of light that went into his back when the angels hid their wings. Of course, I'm sure you all figured that out already, but I though I'd mention it just in case. I'll see if I can fit more of Seto into the next chapter, and you should find out more of Pegasus's evil plan next chapter as well… poor Jou… I'll shut up now…

PLEASE **REVIEW**! They highlight my day!

**bakura240**: Thanks, and I'm sorry for the long wait. My re-sit didn't go too bad… hopefully good enough for me to get a C grade (totally suck at maths). Hope your science tests went well, and that you liked the chapter.

**seto'swifey**: Yep it does. I'm glad you like the story enough for it to be added to your favourites! Hope you liked the chapter.

**Rogue1979**: Thank you. The flashbacks do have a point (not sure how big of a point, but you'll be able to decide that later when things are a little clearer), so don't worry if your confused. I have no idea if I did the lemon to your liking, but I really did try! Hopefully is wasn't too much of a disappointment (I was never very good at writing lemons in the first place). Thanks for reviewing!

**tavi**: Nope not yet! Lol. Hope you liked the chapter!

**FanFicFanGurl101**: Thanks! I added more YamixYugi. SetoxJou hasn't really been mentioned yet, because Jou isn't in Hell, but once he is there will be more. Though SetoxJou will most likely be more of a side pairing… hope that's ok. ; Thanks for reviewing!

**Mittzy**: Thank you. I'm glad you're liking the story so far!


	12. Chapter 12

-1Thanks to my reviewers!

bakura240, ailisa d. frieson, kit, Boogermeister, tavi, FemmeNikita, Serzie, seto'swifey, Ying Jagansama, Adhiana

Chapter 12

"Elder Pegasus?"

The silver haired Elder was sitting peacefully in his room. A quill was in his hand, and a scroll set out in front of him, happily writing away at the simple task he had given himself. Hearing the nervous voice from the other side of the door, Pegasus paused, and looked up from the scroll. "Come in!" The Elder shouted enthusiastically, beaming a gleeful smile.

One had to keep up appearances after all…

A short man, with a mop of aqua green coloured hair, and large gold coloured glasses, stepped into the room. Pegasus's smile fell instantly, and was instead replaced by an annoyed scowl.

"Well?" The Elder asked impatiently.

The short angel's gaze met the floor after seeing the displeased look the Elder was giving him. He shifted from foot to foot, unsure if the news he was about to give was good or not. He really didn't want to get on Pegasus's bad side. The rest of the angels may not know what the silver haired angel was capable of, but he sure was, and hiding was never a good idea… "I-I couldn't find them Master P-"

Weevil fought for breath, after realising there was a hand tightly gripping his neck, and that he was no longer standing on solid ground. Pegasus had walked straight up to him, and put him in a dangerous choke hold. "You dare come back to me empty handed?! You snivelling little insect!"

"No… M-master l-l-listen!" Weevil wheezed out, his hands grabbing Pegasus's fingers, in an attempt to peel the Elder's hand from his skin. "T-they're….not o-on…E-Earth!"

The Elder's grip loosened, and Weevil dropped to the floor.

Pegasus raised a brow in interest, silently ordering Weevil to continue. Said angel was now rubbing his neck, and coughing harshly, but didn't feel like pushing his luck in asking for a few minutes to catch his breath once more. Instead, he forced his now croaky voice to carry on. "I searched the human world for the three angels you asked for, but I couldn't sense their aura's. They're not there any more." He answered from where he sat on the floor.

"So they are dead then." The elder concluded, his voice not showing an ounce of sympathy for his fellow angels supposed deaths. He actually sounded amused by it. "I suppose that just makes things easier for me." He mumbled to himself, now walking back to his desk. "With them dead, it means I don't need to worry about them coming back to Heaven before I get Katsuya out of here…" He then sat back down to his desk, seeming to ignore the angel still placed on the floor, as he went back to his writing.

Weevil clumsily got up from the floor, now finally able to get oxygen back into his lungs properly, but unsure of what to do next. "M-Master-"

"Are you still here?" Pegasus snapped, paying little attention as he continued his writing. "Leave." The Elder finished, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument.

And Weevil was **definitely** not going to argue. Turing to leave, the angel rushed to opened the door, hurrying to leave the room as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Weevil found that his quick escape effort, wasn't quite quick enough, as he still managed to catch the last minute order the Elder threw at him.

"And Bring that Katsuya boy to me before you run off again!"

Again, Weevil wasn't going to argue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dragging his feet tiredly, Mokuba stretched his arms, and yawned as he made his way to the laboratory. He knew it was early in the morning, but he was so close to getting that headache potion done, that his excitement forced him to get an early start. Yugi's and Ryou's advice really did help. He needed to go thank them again later…

The young demon eagerly reached the lab, stopping only briefly to type in the code for the door. When the door did open though, he was a little surprised to see his brother holding a test tube, and sitting in the same position that Mokuba had left him in last night.

"Seto?"

"Hm?" Seto replied not really paying much attention to his younger sibling, as he concentrated on his work.

"…You haven't been up all night have you…?" Mokuba asked, his voice riddled with concern. This wouldn't be the first time he'd caught his brother in the lab all night. Every time Mokuba would confront his brother about it however, Seto would always brush the question away quickly, and then change the subject completely. It was always, '"No Mokuba… don't you have some work to be doing?"' or '"Don't be silly brother. You know I think the chef down in the kitchens started cooking breakfast. Why don't you run along and get something to eat?"' He was surprised his brother didn't collapse from exhaustion.

"Of course not Mokuba. Now why don't you go play-"

"Seto!" Mokuba yelled in frustration. "You're lying!"

The blue eyed demon paused in his work, and let out a quiet sigh. Couldn't Mokuba understand how close he was to getting the potion finished? He didn't have much time left to complete it after all. He really needed someone to amuse Mokuba when he was busy. A slave maybe?… That or get Mokuba his own lab…

"Mokuba, I was only-"

"Don't try to deny it Seto!" Mokuba said firmly with a pout. "You're going to bed!"

"I've nearly finished. Just give me a little longer, and then I'll go to bed." Seto went back to his work, and tried to reason with his brother's stubborn attitude, but was failing miserably, as the young demon began pulling him from his seat. "Mokuba! Just-!" Lord Kaiba's eye's widened slightly, when realising the last herb he needed to complete the potion with, was missing, and he quickly snapped his head round to face the source of the annoying tugging on his clothes. "Mokuba, what happened to the Xleyez herb?"

Mokuba's tugging suddenly stopped, as his expression turned into shocked fear, as he stared at his brother's demanding face. He, Ryou, and Yugi, were using the Xleyez herbs yesterday… they must have used up the last one! "W-Well I…emm…" What was he going to do?! The laboratory wasn't really his, it was Seto's, and his brother only let him use the lab if he obeyed his rules. One of those rules being that he wasn't allowed to bring guests into the laboratory with him. Seto didn't want anyone touching anything, in case something got stolen, broken, or damaged.

Saying that he invited three humans that he only met yesterday into the laboratory, wouldn't be the smartest thing to do…

"I-I used the last Xleyez herb yesterday for a potion." Mokuba explained quickly. His older sibling's eyes narrowed suspiciously, so the smaller demon made sure to change the subject quickly, before Seto could investigate the matter further. "Now go to bed!"

He then began shoving Seto to the door, having finally managing to get him out of his seat.

Seto was just about to turn around, and put a stop to his brother's annoying antics, when an idea suddenly found it's way into his head. Arguing with Mokuba wouldn't work, and it would just waste time, he wouldn't be able to get any further with the potion anyway. But what if he were to lie to Mokuba, and simply agree to going to bed? That way he would be left alone to go get the herb…

"Fine Mokuba, you win, I'll go to bed." The blue eyed demon said cunningly, and began walking out of the room, not giving his brother a second glance. This was perfect. Why didn't he do this as soon as Mokuba stepped into the lab?….

…Why could he hear a second pair of footsteps beside him?…

When Seto actually did look beside him though, he was a more than confused to see Mokuba walking with him, at an even pace.

"Mokuba, what-?"

"You don't actually expect me to take you're word, do you brother? You're a work-a-holic Seto. If you say you're going to bed, then I need to make sure that that's what you're doing. Who knows what you could get up to instead. I might even need to put guards outside your bedroom door!" Mokuba laughed.

Seto's once confused look, turned into a blank and further puzzled one. Exactly who was the 'big brother' here?

Maybe he could just go bribe one or two of the guards to go get the herb for him instead…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A groggy yawn absconded from the ruler's mouth, and he stretched out his limbs lazily. His eyes were still closed, and his mind was at the crossroad of staying in deep slumber, or starting to wake. A conflict on whether or not he was able to stir just yet.

Something was different about today, he could feel it, even in this hazy state. Where was the dread that would always crash down on top of him, at the beginning of every tiresome day? The reminder of stress, caused by his two annoying siblings, and the work needed to rule over Hell? Why didn't he care? What was so different about this day?

"Yugi…" Yami mumbled sleepily, stretching out a hand with the intention of grabbing said person, and pulling him closer to his body. Except, when he did reach out, the body that he expected to be lying next to him, wasn't there.

But something else was.

His fingertips landed on a soft, smooth like texture. It was long, and seemed to be light and… feathery? Yami's frowned in confusion, and slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to wake himself up. When he did look to his hand however, there was nothing there…

No, wait… glitter? Gold glitter… vaporising from his hand, and into the air?

The ruler sat up, and used his free hand to rub his eyes, getting rid of any lingering sleep. When he looked to his hand again though, it was empty.

…Maybe he should lay back down, and get a few more hours shut eye… Where did Yugi go anyway?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stupid, pineapple-headed, demon, psycho." The tanned angel mumbled to himself with an annoyed grudge.

Malik was sitting on the floor. In front of him, was a large battle axe, roughly over a meter and a half in length, the handle thick, and the blade extremely wide and sharp. In his left hand was a bottle of polish, and in his right was a cloth, as he began to clean the weapon with more difficulty than expected.

How could the ruler use this thing anyway? Malik couldn't even pick it up, let alone fight with it! Not to say that Marik was stronger than him… of course not! It's not like he couldn't lift it if he **really** tried. It was just that it was hard to clean!… yeah…

Malik's eye's darted around the room self consciously, then back down to the axe. Narrowing his eyes, Malik made his decision, and put down the polish and cloth. Moving onto his knees, he grabbed hold of the axe's handle with both hands, making sure to have a strong grip. Then, sucking in a determined breath, Malik began trying to pull the weapon up from the floor.

God it was heavy!

Slowly, the axe moved up from the floor, and Malik found himself moving onto his feet, to gain more friction. His arms quivered slightly, and his muscles were tense from the force of the struggling weight. But he wasn't about to give up!

The angel bit his lip, and then, with one mighty pull, and a jolt of power, the axe was up in the air. Malik smirked triumphantly.

The smirk quickly fell however, when he realised keeping the axe in the air was harder than he first though. Malik stumbled, eyes wide, as the axe's weight pulled him backwards. Until the inevitable happened, and Malik landed, rather ungracefully, on his back.

Ouch.

"Malik, what are you doing?"

The voice startled the tanned angel, and he quickly bolted up into a sitting position, having already let go of the battle axe. Overall, he was acting like he'd just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

The angel relaxed however, when he saw Yugi standing in the doorway, blinking at him curiously.

"Oh, I was just checking out Marik's weapon's… You know? See if I could try the whole 'murder the bastard while he sleeps' thing…" Malik replied casually, as he got up from the floor, and lifted himself on to the desk instead.

"You…You really don't like him… do you Malik?" Yugi asked, almost sadly, as he stepped into the room.

Malik frowned, and he looked at Yugi with confusion. "He's a demon Yugi… angels aren't meant to like demons." The violet eyed teen said simply. Of course there were many reasons why Malik didn't 'like' the ruler, but explaining that to Yugi would only upset him. His short friend had a kind soul, and a very sensitive one at that. Mentioning rape would devastate him. Something Malik was not willing to do.

"Oh…" Yugi said again, his voice full of disappointment, as he averted his eyes to the floor.

It hurt. It really did.

When Yugi woke up this morning, it was with a smile on his face. He felt uplifted, ecstatic… just completely elated. He didn't understand why he felt so happy… so blissfully content… until he opened his eyes, and realised Lord Yami was holding him. Was that wrong? Was what he felt for Yami wrong? In truth, he wasn't sure exactly what he felt for the ruler, only that when the ruby eyed demon was around, he felt happy. But last night… last night was probably a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. After all, Malik said that angels aren't suppose to like demons.

So why didn't he regret it?

He wanted some reassurance, which was why he didn't stay with Lord Yami, and wait for him to wake up. Yugi, instead, went out to seek one of his friends. He needed to know that he hadn't committed some kind of great sin.

"It's just…" Yugi tried again. "I think that Lord Marik is really fond of you." He carried on nervously. "S-So m-maybe… maybe demons can like angels?…"

"Marik does not like me Yugi." Malik replied back in a voice that Yugi had never heard from his friend before. So cold… so hard…

"But-"

"Listen to me!" Yugi's head snapped up immediately, his eyes wide in surprise at the sudden harsh words. "To him I'm just some… some pet!" Malik hissed angrily, fists clenched, and head bowed, his golden strands of hair shadowing his expression from Yugi's view. "God damn it Yugi…" The angel continued, voice quieter this time. "They don't even know we're angels. To them, we're just some humans they picked up from Earth, and you've seen what they do to human here…" He paused, and turned his head towards the window in the stone walled room. "They get dragged about by chains." He spat out in disgust.

An uneasy silence broke out. Malik fell into his own deep thoughts, and Yugi simply didn't know what to say, and he looked to the floor again. How was Yugi suppose to reply to that? Everything Malik said was the truth… but Yami didn't treat him like that… then again, that didn't mean he wouldn't eventually…

"…Sorry..." Yugi looked up again, at the sound of Malik's now soft voice. The tanned angel was now looking at him with a small sad smile, and apologetic eyes. "I didn't mean to sound so nasty. You didn't do anything, it's just that I can't stand this place."

Yugi gave his own sorry smile. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry, you're only saying the truth… Guess I've been ignoring the facts a little bit…" Yugi rambled on about his own thoughts, without even realising it. "I'm being selfish…caught up with my own feelings, and thinking that something could change just for me…"

Malik smile broadened a little, and he shook his head, thinking of his friend's words to be nothing more than silly, gibberish guilt, that Yugi shouldn't have to worry about. Just as Malik was about to correct his friend for speaking such nonsense, Yugi mumbled something quieter than a whisper, and sounding so heartbreakingly sad, that Malik almost missed what he said.

Almost.

"Life doesn't work like that… so why would the afterlife be any different…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Shouldn't we have waited for Otogi?"

"No, Ma-…Elder Pegasus said it was urgent."

Jounochi frowned. Right now he was being lead back to the enormous white building he hated. Flying in front of him was a strange looking short man, with green hair. His name was Ceevil…no…well something like that anyway, but he didn't really care about that right now. What he did care about, was the apparently 'urgent' news the Elder had, concerning his friends.

The short green haired man, refused to give any details on the matter however, and it was beginning to get on Jou's nerves. Were his friends hurt? Did the Elder not find them? He was worried, and simply saying that the discussion was 'urgent', was making the whole thing worse!

The urge to beat a straight answer out of this guy, was getting hard to resist.

"Can't ya just tell me what's goin' on?!"

"NO!- I mean…" Weevil voice started rude and snappy, but then he stopped himself mid-sentence, his voice quickly turning more rational and calm, as though he just caught himself making an obvious mistake. "…Elder Pegasus did not inform me on what the discussion was about. Only that it concerned your three friends. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

Jou raised a brow in suspicion. Now why didn't he believe that? Thankfully it didn't look like Jounochi had to wait much longer in getting a straight answer, as he noticed the Elders building quickly coming into view.

Soon Jou found himself standing outside Pegasus's door, Weevil by his side, as he anxiously awaited permission to step inside. Though the temptation to just barge into the Elder's room was getting pretty hard to ignore, and his right hand twitched, eager to grab the door knob.

Weevil took a deep breath, his hand slowly reached the wooden surface of the door, where he placed a feeble knock. "Eld- HEY WAIT!"

But it was too late. Jou had pushed past Weevil, and barged through the door. Weevil was just taking too long, damn it! If this thing was so urgent, then he shouldn't take whole hour to open one simple door! He needed to know if his friends were ok, and he needed to know now! Besides, why did he need permission to step into a room? Manners never were quiet his thing anyway. This Pegasus guy better tel-

"Ah, Jounochi my boy. Just the person I wanted to see."

Jou thoughts were interrupted at the sound of that all too familiar voice. His hot-headed attitude destroyed, and replaced by a shiver. There was just something about the Elder's voice that Jou found…creepy…

"Yes." The blonde angel said quickly, watching Pegasus from where he sat behind his desk. "You wanted to talk about my friends? Have you found them?" Jou asked hopefully.

There was a pause of uncomfortable silence, where Pegasus only stared at Jou with dull, unemotional, eyes. The stare brought back the unbearable fear of his friends safety, at an explosive force. The blonde angel wanted to look away, fearing the truth that the owner of those eyes may bring, but found himself unable to.

It didn't feel as though he could take the suspense much longer. It was like someone had grabbed hold of his heart, and was squeezing it slowly, gradually adding pressure, until it hit an intolerable amount. Only when Pegasus's gaze shifted onto something behind him, did the grip loosen.

"You may go now Weevil." Weevil, who was standing at the door, nodded and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

But then those eyes were on him again. The grip returned.

"You may want to sit down." The Elder said gently.

"I'll stand." The guard said sternly. The Elder only nodded solemnly.

"Jou…" The guard inwardly cringed at the name. Only his friends called him that, but the way it rolled off the Elder's tongue, just made it sound so wrong. "I sent angels out to look for your friends, but when they got to Earth, they found it unusually difficult to pick up their auras-"

"A-Are t-they" The guard couldn't take it, he needed to ask. "Are they….dead?"

"No." That one word made Jou want to collapse onto the floor with relief. Thank God they were alive! He didn't know what he would have done if the silver haired man had said yes, and was more grateful beyond belief, that he wouldn't find out.

However, the relief was short lived.

"But I'm afraid they are seriously ill."

What? No! There must be some mistake! "W-What do you mean seriously ill?" Jou asked in stupefied shock.

"When my angels reached Earth, it took them hours to locate them. The illness had took a toll on their bodies, and made their aura's grow weak. When they were finally found, it was miles away from the portal, and they were on the verge of…. death."

The blonde guard looked lost. His face was drained of any colour, except for a sickly pale white. He didn't understand what the Elder was talking about. Only day's ago Malik, Ryou, and Yugi were fine. How could they fall ill so quickly? He didn't believe it. It was a lie it had to be! The Elder was wrong, this was all just some misunderstanding. He couldn't believe it!

He **wouldn't** believe it!!

"There must be some mistake. I don't understand, how can they be ill?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure… I can only guess that they picked up some sort of disease while on Earth… I have to apologise-"

"What do ya mean apologise??… What do ya have to apologise for?" Jou interrupted, confused and worried.

"Jounochi…I… I'm afraid there's no easy way in telling you this… so I'll give it to you straight."

Another pause.

"Their immune system can't fight it, and the cure is impossible to make…They're dying Jou… I'm sorry."

It took few seconds for the information to actually sink in, but when it did, it was like everything suddenly came crashing down on him at once. They couldn't do anything…? Sorry? That's it, sorry? That's all he had to say?! Ryou, Yugi, and Malik were dying, and all this prick could say was 'sorry'?!

That was it. Jou lost it.

Forgetting all respect an angel should give to an Elder, the guard furiously stomped up to Pegasus's desk, the ink and paper shaking, as he slammed his fists onto the oak surface. "Where are they?! I need to see them!" He shouted angrily.

"I understand that you're upset, but you need to calm down." Pegasus tried to reason. "I can't take you to them. They're in quarantine, we don't know if the illness is contagious, and we can't risk anyone else getting infected."

"Then that's it? I just stay away and wait for them to die?!" The blonde lugged forward, and grabbed the Elder by the collar of his shirt, pulling him forward roughly. Pegasus's eyes widened, clearly not expecting such a violent reaction. "There must be something we can do! Tell me!!"

"I-I'm sorry but there isn't! Like I said, the only thing that might work is impossible to make!" A surprised Pegasus tried to explain.

"Why?!" Jou demanded.

Pegasus looked away from the teen's angry face, and lowered his gaze to the floor. "The ingredient needed, is impossible to get. It's a rare black herb that doesn't even grow in Heaven."

"Where is it?!" The blonde demanded again.

On the inside, the Elder was smirking wickedly. This was just far too easy… "It's on the south side of Hell, where the temperatures are cooler, but no angel is willing to go to the demon world, and nor will I, or any other Elder, allow an angel to do so. It's too dangerous."

Jou pushed the Elder back into his hair, turned round, and made his way over to the door, a determined expression on his face.

"Katsuya, wait! Where are you going?!" As though he really needed to ask? Pegasus found it hilarious. Such a fool the guard was…

"Whether ya allow me to or not, doesn't matter. I'm goin' to go and find that herb with, or without ya permission." And with that said, Jou stormed out of the room. Leaving a smirking Pegasus behind him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Looks like Jou's going to be getting into trouble… Anyway, wow… been a while huh? School sucks. I've been crammed full of essays and course work, then after the Christmas holidays I have my GCSE Business studies exam, and my work experience week… so yeah, I've been busy. Sorry about the long wait. Hopefully this chapter wasn't a disappointment!

**bakura240**: Glad you liked the lemon! Sorry about your science moduals though. How did your mock exams go? I did ok on mine, could have been worse at least. I'll see what I can do for more Bakura and Ryou. Sorry for the long wait! Hope you liked the chapter!

**ailisa d. frieson**: Glad you liked it!

**kit**: Sorry about the long wait. Glad you liked the chapter.

**Boogermeister**: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter just as much!

**tavi**: Thanks. Yup, I continued.

**FemmeNikita**: Glad you liked it! Sorry I took so long to update!

**Serzie**: Ah, don't blame him too much… at least he didn't jump Yugi the first nigh, like Marik and Bakura did to their angels -anime sweat drop-. Hope you liked the chapter!

**seto'swifey**: Jou is going to be meeting Seto VERY soon. Hope you liked the chapter!

**Ying Jagansama**Thank you! Sorry about the long wait.

**Adhiana**: Thanks! And yeah, I feel sorry for Jou to… Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

-1Thanks to all of my reviewers!:

**Rogue1979**, **Boogermeister**, **bakura240**, **Malik fangirl, ****S.L Shiro-san****Adhiana****Landi McClellan****xXShyObsessionXx****FanFicFanGurl101****DarthAnimus****, sympa**

Chapter 13

The raven-haired angel was walking innocently away from Heavens gates, his wings were slack, drooping slightly behind him, as he let out a tiered yawn. Being a guardian angel was tough, and took up most of his free time… but he still loved his job.

"OTOGI!"

Otogi frowned at the frantic shout. Turning around curiously, the guardian only had a split second warning before a flash of yellow and white obstructed his vision, and he found himself hurled onto the floor.

"What is your problem?! Get off-- Jou?" Otogi blinked, surprised to see his best friend sitting firmly on his chest, wings spread defensively, and eyes sharp with determination. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ya need to take me to Earth." Jou stated sternly.

Otogi rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I know you're worried about them Jou, but let Elder Pegasus find them. He-"

"Pegasus already found them." The guard replied coldly, lacking any enthusiasm or joy for the subject.

The green-eyed angel's eyes widened. "Then what are we doing sitting around here?! Lets go and see them!"

As Otogi tried to get up however, Jounochi only pushed him back down. "I need to go to Earth." Jou stated again, this time a little more impatiently.

"But what about Yugi, R-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE OTOGI, JUST TAKE ME TO THE HUMAN WORLD!" The blonde yelled angrily, finally losing his temper, and some of the held back frustration over the matter.

Otogi was taken back at the sudden outburst, and immediately knew that something was seriously wrong. He and Jou had been friends for years, and not once had the blonde sounded so serious. Jou had always been the 'class clown' sort of guy… the attitude he was showing now was just plain frightening…

"What's going on? You know I'm not allowed to take you to Earth, no one but guardian angels are allowed down there… why do you want to go anyway?"

"Because the demons portal is somewhere on Earth!" The guard replied heatedly, but then paused and looked away. "… and I need to get to Hell." He finished more quietly, not looking his friend in the eye.

"….Did Malik make you bang your head again?"

Jou ignored the comment. "Ya can do it though can't ya?… Ya can sense a demon's aura the same way ya can sense your charges aura on Earth…Ya just got to look for it." Jou snapped his head back round to the angel beneath him, a brave fire burning within his eyes. "Ya can tell me where the portal is!"

For a few seconds Otogi said nothing, merely staring at Jou's face with a curious expression. Each angel stared at each other unblinkingly, neither one backing out of the silent argument, creating a tense and unsettling atmosphere, that neither angel seemed to notice… but then finally Otogi spoke. "…What happened?…"

The fire in Jou's eyes flickered dangerously close to smouldering out at the question, and slowly he stood, removing himself from the guardian's body, and allowing Otogi to get up from the floor. "If ya don't help me get to Hell Otogi… Ryou, Malik, and Yugi….t-they're," Jou paused to take in a deep shaky breath, closing his eyes and lowering his head depressingly, his hands fisted by his sides. Could he really say it? How could he when he didn't believe it himself?

"They're what Jou?"

He only had to say it once, just this once and he won't have to say it ever again… they'll be no need to, because Otogi will help him. He **had **to help him. "They're gonna die." After hearing a gasp Jou continued to explain exactly what the Elder had told him, not missing a single detail, not even his behaviour towards the Elder after receiving the bad news.

And not once did Otogi interrupt him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malik was silent, staring at the door which happened to be the only exit out of the room. The door, that only moments ago, Yugi had opened and out ran through, mumbling something about needing to get breakfast for Lord Yami.

For a while Malik had just stood, being in temporary shock at what Yugi had said, before coming up with an excuse to leave. After realising that he was just standing their like an idiot though, he had immediately shot for the door in hopes of catching his small friend, but by the time he reached the hallway, Yugi was long gone. He had briefly contemplated about running in a random direction, hoping that he would just somehow bump into Yugi and find him again, but with the castle being as big as it is, it would have been pointless.

It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So, Malik had reluctantly tossed the idea aside, and instead stepped into the room he just came out of. Now he was sitting on the desk again, once again staring at the door.

"_Life doesn't work like that… so why would the afterlife be any different?" _

The angel frowned. Just what did Yugi mean?

Suddenly the door was being pushed open again. Malik's eyes lit up, and he quickly jumped off of the desk, expecting it to be Yugi. The spark in Malik's eyes quickly dulled disappointingly however, when Marik stepped into the room.

It was then that Malik realised this was the first he'd seen of Marik all morning. The demon wasn't even there when Malik woke up in **his **bed. It had to be the first time since Malik was brought to the castle, that he hadn't woken up to his look-a-like having him in a bone crushing hug.

Not that Malik cared that he had gone missing of course, on the contrary, he was actually quite relieved.

Marik had that happy grin on his face, and for some reason was looking very proud of himself. "I found you Malik-pretty!"

Oh, so that's why he looked so proud… he was able to find his pet.

"Go away." Malik replied rudely, taking a step back to lean against the desk.

Marik's grin didn't falter a tiny bit at the rather blunt reply. "But I got something for you!"

The tanned teen narrowed his eyes suspiciously, into a wary glare. Indeed it looked like Marik had brought him something. The something in question was concealed behind the ruler's back however.

"Well I don't want it." Malik snapped back, readying himself for the worst. The pervert probably got him some sex toy, or something disgusting like that. Bastard probably wanted a 'quickie' before he ran off again.

With that thought in mind, Malik pushed himself further into the desk.

Ignoring his slave's stubborn answers, Marik instead revealed the item behind his back to be….

….a tray full of food?….

Malik looked purely dumbfounded. "W-What?…I mean what-…huh?"

Marik's grin turned into something that resembled a happy smile. "I brought you breakfast kitten! You didn't like the food yesterday, so I went to Earth and got some stuff that humans eat!" Noticing that Malik hadn't said anything, Marik began to worry. "I cooked it myself…" The demon added quietly.

After a few more seconds of shocked silence, Malik looked down at the food again. On the plate were two sausages, four strips of bacon, a fried egg, and two slices of toast. All in which looked rather burnt.

And through all this Marik was gazing at Malik hopefully, a mix of anticipation and worry plain on his face. It looked…well…pathetic.…

So this was why Marik was previously looking so proud? Not because he was able to find his slave, but because he thought he'd done something right in bringing him breakfast?…

"I'm a vegetarian." Malik said emotionlessly.

What was left of Marik's smile, suddenly dropped into an upset frown. "Oh…" The demon mumbled sadly, shoulders sagging.

There was suddenly the feeling of a small, but sharp, pin prick being pushed painfully into the angels heart, and he looked away from his Master's pitiful face. Marik deserved to feel so sad. Hell, saying he didn't want some burnt breakfast was no where near as bad as what Marik had put him and his friends through!…

So why did he feel like he just kicked a tiny, defenceless, puppy?

With an angry sigh of frustration, Malik grabbed the tray, and roughly pulled it from the ruler's grip. He moved to go over and sit on the bed, but then froze mid-step and thought better of it, choosing instead to go over and sit at the desk.

Marik may be acting all innocent now, but it didn't mean he would stay like that.

Sitting on the chair, Malik dropped the tray onto the desk, and began munching on a piece of toast, not saying a word to Marik while doing so.

Said demon was now absolutely beaming. He quickly kneeled down behind the one he adored, and wrapped his arms around Malik from behind, preparing to bring him into a loving hug. His joy stopped however, when feeling Malik flinch under his touch. For once Marik decided not to push his affection onto Malik so forcefully, and drew back his arms.

"I wish… you weren't so frightened of me kitten…" Marik whispered sorrowfully from where he kneeled on the ground.

"Don't call me that." Malik mumbled with a mouth full of bread, referring to the kitten comment, not angrily, but more in a tiredly manner. He then paused and swallowed, waiting a moment before he spoke again, but in a quieter voice. "And for the last time, I'm not scared of you."

Malik's pride shined through better than the truth did… and the angel knew it.

The blonde demon calmly stood, and moved to the angel's side. Slowly, as to not take Malik by surprise and scare him, Marik placed a finger under the boy's chin, turning Malik's face to look him in the eyes.

It seemed Marik knew it to.

Leaning down closer to the violet-eyed teen's face, Marik was surprised to see him sitting firmly in place, staring at Marik fiercely, and not trying to escape. Probably trying to show Marik how brave he was. The obvious shiver that ran up Malik's spine was a dead give away though, no matter how dangerously the tanned angel glared at him.

The ruler then pressed a soft kiss on Malik's lips.

-----Flashback-----

"Isis?" A small seven year old boy was laying in bed, a heavy brown sheet wrapped tightly around his body, in the small candlelit room. The copper-skinned child was looking directly at the person kneeling down in front of him. A girl with long black hair, was gently stroking his face, sweeping away the stray golden strands of hair that were over her brother's face. Her beautiful blue eyes were holding tears of grief, though she tried to hide it with a sad smile. "Why are you crying?"

Isis strained her smile a little wider, a pitiful attempt to reassure Malik that she was fine… though she obviously wasn't. "I'm fine brother… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just… wanted to see that you were ok."

The young woman began to stand, intending to leave her brother to get his rest, but then something grabbed onto her, stopping her from leaving. Looking down, Isis saw a small hand gently holding her own. She then looked up, and caught the sight of her brother's face.

Soft amethyst eyes were gazing into her own tear tainted blue orbs. Her brother's eyes held sympathy and regret, with more wisdom and understanding than a seven year old boy should. The small boy then gave the hand a comforting squeeze. The affectionate gesture was enough to bring Isis over the edge, and she closed her eyes shamefully, as a few tears escaped down her cheeks. She didn't argue when the hand tugged her down gently, carefully coaxing her to sit on Malik's bed.

With her free hand, Isis wiped the tears away from her face, and opened her eyes again, this time with a strong and genuine smile, as she stared at her brother. "It's ok Malik…. We'll be able to leave soon, I'll make sure of it." She then brought her sibling into a hug, holding him gratefully against her body. "We don't need him, because--"

"-because we have each other." Malik finished for his sister quietly, with a content smile.

Isis drew back, her hands set comfortably on Malik's shoulders, her smile still undoubtedly strong. "Without you, I would have fallen to pieces long ago." She then leaned in, and placed a kiss on Malik's forehead. "I love you Malik."

----End flashback----

The dreaded feeling of day-ja-vu suddenly whelmed Malik's soul, and he stared at Marik with glazed eyes, his face showing no expression… except maybe, that of a lost child.

'_Please don't say it…' _That sentence echoed painfully within Malik's mind, that one sentence being the soul essence of Malik's thoughts, not allowing him to think of anything else. He barley even noticed Marik pulling him closer.

Marik couldn't say it…. He wasn't **allowed** to say it!

The demon ruler regrettably released his obsession's lips, and nuzzled the side of Malik's neck.

The demon couldn't say it because-!…

The ruler's warm breath was felt against Malik's ear.

….because…

"I love you Malik-pretty."

…because he wasn't her…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone angel was laying on the dusty ground, face pressed into the dry earth, his lanky form stiff and unmoving. Around the body was… nothing. Simply a dead terrain. It look out of place. A creature so pure, surrounded by a place so depressingly lifeless and inert.

Suddenly the body twitched, and a sickened moan was heard. A head full of shaggy blonde hair, lifted itself from the floor, revealing heavy eyelids, and a wary face, as it looked around its surroundings.

The angel saw dirt, and…. more dirt.

The angel blinked a few time, and then his eyes instantly grew wide, as though suddenly being snapped out of some sort of hypnosis.

He did it.

Jou pounced onto his feet, a goofy grin on his face, as he punched his fist into the air triumphantly. "I knew Otogi wouldn't let me down! Now all I got to do is-" The guard's cheeks suddenly tinged green, and he threw his hand to his mouth, making a strange muffled sound, that suggested a dry gag.

Jou suddenly realised the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Jou made a promise to himself, right then and there; After all this was over with, he would never travel through a portal EVER again. The damn thing had thrown him around like a rollercoaster. He'd only just managed to get through the first experience when he and Otogi had made it to Earth. The second time however was threatening to bring his lunch back up.

The honey-eyed guard took in a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled steadily, and slowly removed the hand from his mouth. He wasn't going to let an upset stomach hold him back.

Stuffing a hand into his jeans, he rummaged through his right pocket, and pulled out a small compass, happy to see that the object wasn't broken due to the rough travelling.

-----Small Flashback-----

"Are you sure it's around here Otogi?" Jou asked cagily in a hushed whisper.

Both guard and guardian angel were walking side by side. Around them were grubby apartment buildings, boarded up windows, and broken glass. Otogi had warned Jou that they were treading on dangerous territory that housed mostly violent, and drug abused humans. However, neither angel had used this excuse to turn back.

"I-I think so." Otogi replied, sounding surprisingly nervous and on edge. "I haven't done this before, but whatever that aura is, it's really strong… defiantly not human." The guardian finished disturbingly, wiping away a thin line of sweat from his forehead.

There was a reason why angels weren't allowed to do this. A demon's aura alone could bring quite a shock to an angels system if they concentrated on it hard enough. Searching for such a dark entity that could be holding thousands of those murderous creatures was definitely asking for trouble, and it was hard for Otogi to concentrate on it for more than a few seconds.

"It's in there." Otogi pointed to a shadowy looking alleyway. He then began making his way over to said location, but Jou quickly grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Ya know you're not able to go Otogi. A guardian angel goin' missing is serious. If an Elder noticed that you suddenly vanished, we'd both be in big trouble."

The ebony-haired angel spun round angrily, and was about to argue back at his friend… but then he paused, and his face suddenly dropped with disappointment. Jou may be a tad clumsy, but he wasn't stupid. What he said was right. "Here." Otogi said seriously, pulling out something from his jacket pocket, and shoving it into Jou's hands.

Jou blinked down curiously at the small compass resting in his hands.

"I don't know what it's like down there, and you're going to need some sense of direction to know exactly which way south is." Otogi explained.

The blonde nodded, and gave his friend an appreciated grin. "Don't worry Otogi, I'll be back before ya know it."

"You better be."

------End Small Flashback-------

"Guess I better get moving." The eager teen crouched down, ready to jump into the air and spread his heavenly white wings, but he stopped himself just in time. Was that really a smart thing to do? He couldn't see any demons as of yet, but that didn't mean that one couldn't suddenly show up and take him by surprise, and if he was caught with his wings out, it could easily cost him his life, especially when there was nowhere to hide in this 'wasteland'… If that happened, he'd never be able to get back to Heaven, and Yugi, Ryou, and Malik would-

Jou fiercely shook his head, and angrily clenched his fist, ridding himself of the thought quickly. He wasn't going to let that happen.

Making up his mind, Jou broke out into a furious run, the compass in his hand pointing south.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miserable. That one word seemed to sum up the way Ryou was feeling right now… The snowy white haired teen had temporarily managed to escape Bakura's clutches, and was now walking down one of the many hallways in the castle, hoping to find one of his friends, since he hadn't seen either Malik or Yugi all day.

The search had been going on for fifteen minutes already however, and Ryou was, to say the least, starting to feel discouraged. The castle was just too big and complicated for him to figure out where everything was yet… and for some reason, the ruler's bedrooms seemed to be placed a mile apart from one another, and because the demons tended to force their 'property' into their rooms, it made Ryou's quest in reuniting him and his friends, all the more difficult.

The angel sighed, and lowered his gaze to the floor, his feet still moving him forward automatically, but at a much slower pace.

What was the point? He wasn't going to find them, that much was obvious. Bakura was probably looking for him to.

The uneasy thought of Bakura throwing daggers wildly in all directions, demanding his slave to come out of wherever he was hiding in his bedroom, suddenly crossed Ryou's mind, and he shuddered fearfully. Did the demon treat everyone so poorly?…Who was he kidding? 'Poorly' was an understatement. The sadistic demon had permanently wounded him. There may not be any visible marks on the outside of his body, but on the inside he was a bleeding corpse.

The sound of running was suddenly brought to Ryou's attention, and the terrifying idea of Bakura charging down the hallway, dagger in hand, forced the boy to abruptly stop in his tracks. That wasn't what made him lift his eyes off the ground however. After all, who would want to look up, only to see their worst fear looking back at them? No. The reason Ryou lifted his head, was because of the surprising sound of a crash erupting, just around the corner.

"Please Lord Bakura have mercy! I'm sorry for my clumsiness! It won't happen again! Ju-just-" The voice was feminine, clearly frightened and upset.

"Pathetic wench!" It was a rich, but dark voice, one that held cruel threat. Ryou could not mistake it for any other. It was definitely Bakura.

Carefully, as to not make a sound in fear of informing Bakura of his presence, Ryou forced his rather reluctant, and shaken limbs, to bring him to the corner end of the hallway.

When the angel's fearful, but kind brown eyes looked around that corner, his heart stopped.

A young girl with long smouldering brown hair, that could easily be mistaken for a deep red, was standing as stiff as a board, the only movement being her strong quivering. Her dark shining eyes were wide with terror, and were filled to the brim with tears. Her breathing was harsh, and it looked like, at any minute now, she would experience a heart attack.

Standing in front of her, was Ryou's tormentor. The white-haired ruler was looming over his victim angrily, his eyes glittering murderously for blood, the same way the blade of a dagger would, after it had been wiped clean of it's crimson liquids, eagerly awaiting to be used once more. The pincer of the demon's tail was opened wide behind him, and the tips of sharp horns were poking out of white hair.

"P-Please forgive me my Lord! I didn't mean to-"

"You should have thought of that before you crashed into me!" Bakura yelled spitefully, and to the girl's horror, Bakura raised his tail, his stinger full of poison, ready to strike.

------Flash back-------

"P-Please! I don't have any more money! I can't even buy any lunch!" A boy, with short, spiky red hair whimpered.

"You should have thought about that before coming into school today!" A largely intimidating boy mockingly shouted back.

A young male with adorably large chocolate brown eyes, and long snowy white hair, stared sadly from where he stood behind a tree, watching the most feared bully in the entire school, pick on yet another poor victim. Ryou had been subjected to the exact same fate on many occasions… There was just nothing he could do about it…

"Please don't hurt me Greg! I-I can't keep taking money from my mum's purse! She can't afford it!" The victim pleaded pitifully.

"You think I care?" Greg then pulled his arm back, his hand made a fist, as he got ready to strike.

Before Ryou even realised what he was doing, he had shot out from his hiding place like a bullet, running to the spiky-haired kid's aid.

------End Flashback-----

Ryou ran for all he was worth, he didn't know what he was doing, but he couldn't just stand there and watch that poor girl get beaten! When he finally reached them, everything just seemed to slow down. The snake like limb rose itself a little higher, before throwing itself forwards, aiming right at the girl's chest. Ryou did the only thing he could think of in a situation like this.

He pushed the girl out of the way, putting himself directly in front of Bakura's line of fire instead.

Bakura only realised his mistake after it was too late.

The angel immediately let out an agonizing hiss of pain. The demon's stinger had slashed diagonally across his chest, cutting through his thin shirt, and leaving its mark across the slave's milky skin, revealing a narrow line of blood. If Ryou hadn't moved into the attack so awkwardly however, the stinger would have easily stabbed itself into his chest.

The pale teen slowly dropped to the floor, his face scrunched up in pain, as the ruler's previous target skittishly ran from the scene.

The demon momentarily did nothing, still a little shocked at what just happened, and how quickly his slave had suddenly turned into the female prey. Ryou to, did nothing, merely waited, his fresh wound stinging terribly as he did. The angel remember this part clearly, it was like the aftermaths of a storm. It was the part where Ryou would lay helplessly in front of the bully behind the school yard, and then, after a few more taunting and hurtful words, the bully would walk away leaving Ryou alone… broken and bleeding.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" The question was spat out viciously.

And so it began. Ryou said nothing, its not like it would help much anyway… It never did…

Bakura, seeing that he wasn't going to receive an answer, growled angrily. "Idiot." He then grabbed his slave's wrist, and roughly pulled a surprised Ryou to his feet.

Ryou yelped, the sudden movement pulling his wound painfully, and he instantly started to struggle. What was Bakura doing? Wasn't he going to be left bleeding in the hallway? He didn't think the demon would bother giving him a proper beating!

The demonic Lord pushed Ryou against the wall, and took both wrists into one hand, holding them above the boy's head. He then wrapped his tail tightly round the teen's legs, binding them together and making them immobile. His other arm slid around the angel's waist, thoroughly trapping his prisoner's body against him and the wall.

It was now impossible for the angel to run or escape.

Ryou panicked, the only thing he could do was apologise, whether it would help him or not. "I'm sorry Mas-!" His sentence was cut off by his own heart breaking screech.

Bakura had connected his lips to Ryou's bloody cut, sucking on it violently, and gulping down the blood. "STOP!" Ryou screamed loudly, finding the immense pain almost too much to bare.

Bakura tightened his grip around Ryou's waist, but besides from that he ignored him for a full agonizing three minutes. Three minutes full of Ryou's stinging pain and weeping.

When the ruler did remove his mouth from the wound, his lips were covered in red crimson, his tongue then hungrily licked them clean, savouring his slave's divine taste. "Better now?" Bakura asked offhandedly, dragging his tongue up Ryou's wet cheek to rid the tears away.

Ryou sniffled sadly, flinching at the feeling of Bakura's moist tongue on his face. Better? Was Bakura mocking him again? It sounded like he was. Was he suppose to reply to that? But what could he possibly say? Of course he didn't feel better!… It wasn't fair… It just wasn't fair…

"Aw, what's wrong Ryou? You don't look very grateful." Bakura mocked with a smirk, releasing Ryou's wrists and legs, but not his hold around Ryou's waist. "I was searching the whole damn castle for you." Bakura said again, glaring slightly. The demon then quickly lifted the boy into his arms, holding him firmly in a bridal position, as he began walking back down the hallway. Ryou didn't even try to struggle this time, there was just no point. "Did you really want to die so badly?"

The question took Ryou by surprise. Sure, the words weren't said in a worried manner, more like a spiteful one, but when Ryou glanced at his Master's face, and caught the look in Bakura's eyes… there just seemed to be something there that contradicted the way he said it. If it were any other person, Ryou may have mistaken it for… for concern?

"Die?" Ryou whispered clueless.

"Yes die." Bakura seethed, suddenly sounding a lot more angry, but strangely, casting he eyes away to look anywhere but Ryou's face. The peculiar action gave Ryou the sneaky suspicion that the ruler's anger wasn't directly aimed at him… but then who? "My venom was ready at an life threatening level. If my stinger had be stabbed directly into your body…" Bakura paused for a second, and his grip on the teen increased greatly, almost to the point where he was hurting the one in his arms. Bakura's furious eyes were then fixed onto Ryou's face. "You belong to me! I decide if and when you die! Understand human?!"

Was… Was Bakura angry with himself?

"I-I didn't want to die Master…" The angel whispered in reply. "I understand though." He added in a depressed murmur.

Bakura grunted in response, finally reaching back to his bedroom, and kicking open the door. It was just as Bakura stepped into the room, that Ryou chose to speak up again. "I-If the poison was already being past through your tail when you slashed across my chest-"

"Some of the poison was able enter your system when the needle cut you." The white-haired Lord answered before Ryou was able to get the full question out, kicking the door closed behind him, and to Ryou's horror, began walking over to the bed.

The angel's heart beat quickened sharply. Was this his real punishment for getting in Bakura's way? Was the demon going to-

"I wasn't able to suck out all of the poison though." Bakura continued, interrupting Ryou's thoughts, and dumping the pale angel onto the bed.

Ryou's eyes widened as he watched the ruler crawl onto the bed to join him. Oh God he was! Bakura was going to have his way with him one last time, before the venom killed him! He would have tried to make a run for it, but he was suddenly feeling just so tiered and weak, that he couldn't bring himself to move… "A-am I g-going to… to die?" A mix of sleepiness, and dread in his voice.

The demon chuckled, and pushed Ryou down into the silky maroon bed sheets, about to answer the question with another mocking remark, but when he actually paid attention to the fear in Ryou's drowsy eyes, something clicked in his cold black heart, and he decided against it. "You're just going to sleep for a while Ryou…" The young demon leader reached a hand out, and gently stroked his look-a-likes cheek, gently calming the boy. Bakura didn't know why he did it… he just wanted to. He even went a step further in laying by Ryou's side, and bringing the boy against his chest, one arm wrapped safely around him, while the other hand continued to tenderly stroke his cheek.

The angel suddenly found his eyelids too heavy to keep open, and in result, they began to droop, the hand on his cheek only further coaxing him to sleep. "Thank you." Ryou whispered out quietly.

"For what?" Bakura whispered back, starring into half lidded eyes.

"For…For saving my life…. and for not leaving me like the others did…." Those were the last words that Ryou was able to get out, before the poison completely fogged his mind, and he was forced into sleep. But even as Ryou slept a dreamless slumber, the boy was still able to feel the demon's arm wrapped protectively around him, and instead of feeling scared by this, Ryou oddly felt comforted by it.

For once he was glad that the 'bully' hadn't left him alone after the beating.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh…where is…it?" Jou panted out breathlessly, bending over, and placing his hands on his knees, as he took in gulps of much needed air.

What was with this place? He'd been running for hours now, stopping only briefly to catch his breath every fifteen minutes or so, then dashing off into a mad sprint again, and he had yet to see one single plant! Not even a patch of grass! Had he been going the wrong way? But the compass said he'd been going south the entire time… Maybe Pegasus had made a mistake, and the plant wasn't really at the south end of Hell, but North or something?

Jou let out a sigh of miserable despair, after finally managing to get oxygen back into his lungs. He then slowly straightened himself back to his full height, and began treading tiredly forwards again, this time at a more calmer pace.

Had he failed? But his friends were counting on him, he couldn't fail. However, though he didn't want to admit it, he was finding it hard to keep going. The temperatures were a lot different here, compared to Heaven. It was much warmer, so much so, that it was almost unbearable… Now that he thought about it, the reason why he had yet to see a plant was obvious. It was simply a hard climate to survive in. How the demons could live in these conditions was a mystery to him.

How was it even possible for this place to be so stupidly warm anyway? There wasn't a sun in the sky!… At least he didn't think there was anyway.

Jou lifted his head moodily, ready to shout random curses at the swirling dark clouds, that made up the 'sky', when something in front of him suddenly caught his eye. A gigantic bolder was sitting a few feet away from him. To say that Jou was surprised would be an understatement. Yes, it was the first thing he'd seen in this place that wasn't dirt, but that wasn't what shocked him.

Growing up the side of the bolder was a plant.

Having being supplied newly found energy, Jou dashed forwards. "This has to be it!" The guard cried out happily, coming to a skidding halt in front of the overly large rock.

The entire right side of the boulder was covered with the strange foliage, the stems and leaves splitting and crossing as elegantly as a spider would spin and create its web. The plant's stem was thin and narrow, but was able to produce large rounded leaves. It had to be the 'black herb' Pegasus was talking about! Except… well, the colour of the plant was red, with small purple dots on the leaves… wasn't it suppose to be black? Or did 'black herb' mean something else?

There was nothing else here though, and the longer he hung around here, the less time his friends had. So, without much of a choice, Jou reached out to-

"YOU THERE! HUMAN!"

The guard froze, and his face visibly paled as he anxiously turned round. At first he saw no one, and he vaguely thought that he imagined the voice, but then, as though from no where, two demons dropped from the sky, heavily landing in front of him.

Crap.

The bulky looking demon hastily grabbed hold of Jou's arm, and carelessly pulled him forward. "What's a human doing outside of Hell's gates? Where is your Master, slave?!"

"What's the big idea? Get ya greasy paws off me, ya over grown lizard!" Jou angrily struggled to pull his arm free. He didn't have time for this! He needed to hurry up and get back home!

Jou's complaints were met with a hard whack to the face by the demon's tail, and Jou painfully slammed into the boulder behind him. "Such insolence will not be tolerated!" The demon's partner shouted threateningly. "Now where-"

The demon didn't get to finished his sentence however, as Jou politely thanked his attacker for his now bleeding nose, by slamming his own fist into the demon's cocky face. He then hastily swung his leg round, and kicked the other demon across the side of the head, letting him spin to the ground. While his enemies were momentarily stunned, the angel quickly tore away a handful of the plant crawling up the bolder, and then made a run for it, grinning like an idiot as he did.

That will teach those dopes not to mess with Jounochi Katsuya!

Grin still in place, and thinking that he was home free, Jou took that moment to look over his shoulder, expecting to see two knocked out demons in the distance behind him. "See you later, bast-" Wait… where were the two knocked out demons that were suppose to be behind him? The guard, now confused, turned back to look in front of himself.

There was a flash of a fist, and then Jounochi's world went dark.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This has to me the longest chapter so far… Anyway, hi everyone! Taken me a while to update as usual, but as you all already know, things are still busy. I only just finished my work experience, being a helper at a year 2 class in a primary school, as well as getting my GCSE Business studies exam over with… thank god, but I'll not ramble on about my crappy life.

This chapter mostly concentrates on Malik and Ryou's 'bonding time' with their darker look-a-likes, because without it, their relationships with one another wouldn't stand a chance. If they stand a chance at all anyway…And of course, I couldn't neglect Jou. -looks up at chapter- Heh, poor Jou. SetoxJou fans should look forward to the next chapter…

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Rogue1979**: No problem That part is going to be coming VERY soon, after all it only takes two days to make the potion, and their already on the first day… Hope you liked the chapter!

**Boogermeister**: Thank you! At least Jou is in Hell now. ;

**bakura240**: Meh, a D isn't that bad, a lot of my friends are on a E level lol. Believe me Bakura, Marik and Yami will find out, and when they do-… well, lets just say it's going to be a shock -smirk- Hope you liked the chapter!

**Malik fangirl / ****S.L Shiro-san**Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I am sorry that you were upset by the rape scenes however, and I apologise for not putting up some kind of warning in the beginning of that particular chapter (probably should have, just so the readers were aware of it), but hopefully you weren't too upset by it ; I am planning on making Malik and Marik a couple, it's just harder to do with Malik's character being so proud and stubborn with Marik (though he has every right to be). Yami didn't find out that Yugi was an angel, he was only half awake at the time, and he didn't actually see the feather. To put it simply, he just thought his mind was playing tricks on him. I'm also happy to know that my story is on your favourites list! Hoped you liked the chapter!

**Adhiana**: Thank you! And yes, as you can see, Malik is puzzled by it ; Sorry it took so long to update, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Landi McClellan**: Thanks A movie? You think so? Well… I can dream I suppose ; Hoped you liked the chapter!

**xXShyObsessionXx**: Thank you, I'll try! Hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

**FanFicFanGurl101**: I'm sorry they didn't meet in this chapter!… But I promise you will **love** the next one!

**DarthAnimus**: I'm glad you liked all of the chapters! And you're right, Jou isn't stupid, just a little clumsy (I made sure to point that out in this chapter). Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as you did the others!

**sympa**: I'm happy to know that you still love the fic! I made sure to add more BakuraxRyou and MarikxMalik in this chapter to!

**REVIEW! **


	14. Chapter 14

-1Chapter 14

A man with neat brown hair, and a slim built figure stood outside the castle walls. His presence intimidating anyone who happened to come near. His piercing cold eyes stared out into the distance with a serious expression across his face, though if a passer by was to look closely, they would be able to make out a hint of irritation being reflected in those icy blue orbs. A long, navy-blue jacket clung to his chest tightly, opening at his hips, and flaring out around his long, muscular toned legs.

Lord Kaiba, though seeming to look calm, was feeling restless.

The healer had been gazing into the distance for nearly thirty minutes now, waiting for two guards that were obviously taking their time returning back to the rulers castle, and it was beginning to get on his nerves. Seto had given them a simple task, one that was easy to accomplish and would take no more than fifteen minutes if the two were to just get on with it, and Seto **hated** slackers.

…Also, though the cold Lord would never admit it, he was a little worried about getting caught by his brother… Mokuba could be a handful at times, and if he found out that his big brother was busy outside instead of in bed resting, then he'd get more than an earful about it…

Just what were those two idiots doing?!

Finally, as though on cue, Seto was able to make out two demons flying his way, though he didn't fail to notice that one demon seemed to be lagging behind a little compared to the demon flying in front.

"What took you so long?" Seto hissed irritably as soon as the two landed next to him, somehow managing to hold back his anger at having to wait so long. Kaiba vaguely noticed the guards bruised, and slightly cut up faces, but the fact was nothing more than a meaningless observation. Healer or not, Seto had other things on his mind. "So where is it?"

The stronger, more bulky demon was the one to answer him first, he had greasy short blonde hair covered by a red bandana, and wore thick black sunglasses. How the guard could even see properly wearing those things was a mystery. "We ran into a little set-back."

"Set-back?" The brunette inquired suspiciously. "What set-back?"

The guard's face scrunched up in annoyance for a moment, using the back of his hand to wipe away the small speck of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. "Him" He answered shortly, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to his fellow guard standing behind him, and then moved out of the way to let the potion master get a better look.

It was then that Seto noticed the reason to the smaller guard's struggle in flying. Draped in the demon's arms was a human. The human didn't look to be very heavy, and in fact looked rather slim, maybe a little on the lanky side. His hair was a golden colour, short and shaggy, with a long fringe that just reached over his eyes. Said eyes were closed… he had obviously been knocked out. He was also sporting a scuffed cheek and bloody nose.

"You found a human outside the gates?"

The larger demon nodded, still looking a little pissed off. "Git gave us a hard time too." He muttered with a grudge. "We went to get that Xleyez herb you wanted, but when we found it, that human," He made a small gesture to the boy still being held in his partners arms "was already there. We thought we should bring him back."

"No master?" Seto continued to question, though he distantly realised he was probably a little more interested in the human than he should be… The boy was rather good looking though… for a human.

"He said he didn't belong to anyone, and there were no other demons in the area." The bandana wearing guard replied, casually shrugging his shoulders.

"K-Keith." The smaller demon stuttered awkwardly, his arms and legs shaking from exhaustion, the 'human' slowly falling from his grasp.

"Shut up Bones." Keith answered gruffly without looking back. "Anyway," The stronger guard continued his conversation with the higher rank demon, pulling something out of his right pocket "here's the herb you wanted."

Once Keith had dropped the strange spotted plant into Seto's awaiting hand, the spell caster had immediately turned round to make his leave. After all, Kaiba had gotten the last ingredient needed for the potion, there was no reason for him to stick around any longer…

"Wait! Lord Kaiba, what should we do with the boy?"

…was there?

"…You should report him to the rulers of course. They will notify the slave traders of his escape, and if what he says is true about having no master, then he will be put on auction in the market." Seto answered simply. It was a stupid question, and he didn't have time to get caught up with other matters. His responsibilities came first.

"Yeah, well, you see…"

When hearing the strange uneasiness flawed within Keith's voice, Seto stopped his walking to look over his shoulder and raise a mildly curious brow. The sight that greeted him was of the shorter demon laying flat on his back, the unconscious human doing a good job in keeping him pinned down with his weight, and Keith grinning at him like a nervous fool.

"…The thing is Lord Kaiba," the blonde demon continued, "you made us go on this errand during the time me and Bones were suppose to be on duty, and since we're not allowed to do that kind of thing without the rulers permission…" Keith paused there, hoping that the healer would catch on to what he was talking about and understand, but the blue-eyed demon just continued to stare at him as though he was bored. "…We were hoping you could tell the rulers yourself…" He then reached over and grabbed the back of the human's jacket, easily lifted him off of his squashed partner, and then held him out to the taller male.

Seto looked at him like he was an idiot… and yet his hand reached out for the human on its own accord, gingerly grabbing the front of the human's shirt.

The 'human', oblivious to what was happening, merely hung there limply, his head flopped back slightly and his eyes still undoubtedly closed. If it weren't for the boy's steady breathing, Seto would have easily mistaken him for dead… that or a VERY heavy sleeper… Just how hard did those two hit him anyway?

…Why did it even matter?

"You both must be stupid." The Lord mumble, and though he was referring to the two guards, his eyes stayed fixed on the boy dangling in front of him. He just couldn't seem to take his eyes away from the human's blissfully unaware face… "You will do it yourselves."…but ignorance seemed to be more familiar to Seto than infatuation… "You really expect me to-" The Lord's firm words were cut short however, as when Seto did lift his gaze from the boy, he realised that the two guards were no longer there. The demons must have already anticipated their superiors answer and made a hasty escape as soon as the 'set-back' was taken from them.

Cowards.

But no matter, he could deal with the guards insolence later. Right now he had to deal with the… unexpected guest.

His gaze wandered back to the blonde he was still holding. Seto knew he needed to hand the boy over to Yami, Marik, and Bakura but he was some-what reluctant to do so. At least not right now anyway… It wasn't that he found the boy's sudden appearance interesting… of course not. It's just that he had more important things to be doing right now than sending some pesky human to the rulers. He had to… he had to go and…?

For a moment Kaiba forgot what 'important things' actually needed doing, until the reason to why he'd been standing outside for the guards suddenly dawned on him again. He needed to get that potion done.

By muttering a few quiet words the demon was able to conjure a circular pitch-black portal to form behind him. Without even glancing back at his creation, Seto calmly took a step back and allowed the rather large darkness to swallow him whole. In a flash, the potion master appeared fully intact in his bedroom, the portal disintegrating into nonexistent smoke behind him. To his right a king sized four poster bed greeted him, complete with navy blue sheets. A long length table stood opposite the bed, almost completely taking up the entire left wall as it proudly held up numerous scrolls, potions, and glasses. Shelves held neatly lined books from the floor, and tapestries hung across the walls showing scriptures that only those who held the knowledge of the ancient demonic tongue would be able to decipher.

Again Seto's eyes looked down and met those of his 'guest', eyes still closed and body still unmoving. Without giving the boy's predicament any further though, Lord Kaiba set the 'human' down onto the floor, not bothering to worry about the other's comfort or minor injuries. Why should he? The boy wouldn't be staying in his room long enough for it to really matter, and it would be inappropriate, not to mention wrong, to let the stray human rest on **his** bed. At least that's how Seto saw it anyway…

Turning away, the Lord directed his attention to his 'organized', though be it slightly cluttered, table. Standing to a halt in front of it, Seto immediately placed the herb he was given into a glass of strange see-through liquid, he then took out a peculiar device, looking strange in both shape and colour, and placed it underneath the glass. One would guess it was some sort of high-tech Bunsen burner… or at least something similar. The demon was just about to grab one of the smaller bottles lined neatly by his equipment, when he heard something unexpected, braking his concentration.

"Stupid… Mal-!…hm…"

Cautiously, Seto turned away from his work and raised a curious brow. Did he just get called stupid? The demon's face quickly turned to a cold glare at that disturbing thought. It was then that he noticed the human mumbling away, restlessly twitching on the floor, with an unhappy frown plastered on his face.

"Say that again… bast…ard…ugh…"

Abandoning the potion, Seto instead found himself stepping towards the being laid in the middle of the room, why he was slowing edging his way towards the human wasn't clear. Perhaps he found the mindless mumbling too much of a distraction to carry on working? Whatever the reason, Kaiba didn't stop until the boy appeared beside his feet.

"…I'm not… not a… "

The words trailed off into a whisper, and the demon's body seemed to move on its own accord, as Seto, seemingly unaware, bent down onto one knee. If Seto was more aware of his movements he would have found the action of kneeling down before a human undignified… but for the moment that thought just didn't seem to occur to him.

"I'm not a… not… "

The boy's words were so quiet that Seto was straining to hear, but for reasons beyond his own understanding he felt compelled to listen, and it was because of this that the demon leaned his head ever-so-slightly closer to the boy's mouth, hoping to catch whatever words were about to be spoken.

"…a mutt…"

An unreadable expression fell over the Lord's face, his body frozen in place from where it hovered over the other in bewilderment. A mutt? As in…?

"A dog?" The healer asked aloud.

Voicing out his thoughts wasn't a very good idea… and it all just happened so quickly…

"I'M NOT A D- " In a flash Jounochi had woken and immediately sat up with a start, the action causing a painful collision of heads from the two on the floor, and a painful howl from the blonde. "Son of a-" Jou gritted his teeth together in pain, his hands gripping both sides of his head fiercely, as though it would somehow relieve him of the sudden sharp pain. "What is this? Whack Jou over the head week?! Can't ya watch where ya g-"

Jounochi stopped mid-sentence as he took in his surroundings. The once dry earth around his feet was replaced by a deep navy blue rug, covered with complicated patterns. The void wasteland that had encircled him from every corner had turned into four solid stone walls, and that tormenting 'sky' had transformed into a high ceiling.

Wait a second…

"Whaa…?" Jou's eyes had widened considerably as he made a incomprehensible gasp. "Where the hell am I?"

"You answered your own question." Was the gruff reply which successfully caused the angel's blood to run cold.

Across from the angelic-guard was a young man, one who had handsome sharp features, and frosty blue eyes. Jou watched with great fascination as the male picked himself up from the floor, a hand pressed to the side of his head, and a small frown on his face. Each movement the stranger made seemed to bring the angel a step deeper into an inescapable trance… but then those frosty eyes shifted their gaze to meet his own. The look was so chilling that Jounochi felt a shiver run up his spine, and suddenly the other had an air about him, demanding respect and holding a stuck-up 'I'm better than you' atmosphere.

"What are you looking at, human?" Lord kaiba asked with some bitterness.

The question seemed to snap the honey-eyed angel back to reality. "Who 'er y-" Wait, human? Suddenly everything came into focus again, and the reason to why he wasn't lounging around at home came back to hit him with excruciating force. Quickly jumping to his feet, the angel desperately began to search and pat his pockets. When he felt nothing, he made a kind of distressed yelp and hastily pulled the fabric inside-out, frantically searching his clothes.

The demon said nothing, simply watching the other with caution the same way a psychiatrist would observe his patient through a two-way mirror.

When the angel found nothing, hysterical eyes took over instead, darting around the room madly until the thing he was looking for finally came into view. Relief washed over Jounochi in large waves once the table against the left wall caught his attention. Then, like a lion diving for the kill, Jounochi dove for the table. Of course Seto's harmless surveying couldn't just sit back and allow this to happen, pulling at your clothes like a crazy person is one thing, but trying destroy the room was just a step too far. Calmly stepping forwards, Seto grabbed hold of the boy's jacket before he had time to run by him, then pulled him backwards and allowed the other to fall painfully on his back.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The demon said in a cold strict tone, looking down at the other strangely.

"Takin' back what's mine." The blonde answered angrily glaring at the demon as he stood. Lord kaiba merely raised an eyebrow to show the other that that explained nothing, and so the honey-eyed male continued. "That herb belongs to me!" He shouted furiously, pointing to the table and in turn making Seto glance over his shoulder. "So you listen to me demon." Jou carried on, voice stern and serious. "It's a matter of life or death that I get that plant, so either ya give me that herb right now or ya get out of my way and let me get it myself before I wipe the floor with ya ass!"

The threat was met by silence until Lord kaiba finally turned back to face his troublesome guest. "Do you even know what that herb is called?"

Jou blinked. "Errr…"

"Didn't think so." The brunette interrupted coolly before the guard could even get out a guess. "Are you even sure about what it does?"

This time the angel was quick to react and made a decent guess, hoping to rub it in the know-it-all demon's face. "It cures illnes--"

"Wrong again." Seto interrupted a second time. "The Xleyez herb offers **no** healing abilities, meaning it's useless for any type of medicine."

"…You're lying." Jou answered simply after a slight hesitation. After all an Elder had told him that that herb was the key to his friends survival. An Elder wouldn't lie. Pegasus had no reason to. At least… he didn't think so anyway…

The taller male rolled his eyes arrogantly. "I really don't care if you believe me or not. You've already made me waste valuable time." With that said, the Lord turned his back to the guard and made his way back to the potion on his table.

"Hey!" Jounochi yelled angrily to try and get back the demon's attention. "Don't just think ya can walk away and be done with me freak. I need that he-" The angel gasped in shock when from nowhere solid bars appeared around him after a brief flash of white. "Let me out!"

The demon didn't even blink at the command and was already back into his work. The only action he took was one planned to shut the blonde's mouth. Without looking back, Seto flicked his wrist to the side. A crushed powdery substance on the table followed the action like a magnet would to metal, throwing itself to where the potion master had aimed.

Straight into the prisoner's face.

Just when Jounochi was about to shout again he choked on his words, the powder making him cough and sputter until he found it incredibly difficult to breathe. Suddenly the world began to spin, and the angel found it too hard to stay standing. The inevitable happened and he stumbled onto his knees, only managing to take in a few more jagged breaths before he slowly slumped down to lay on the floor, eyes falling shut as he did.

"You woke up too early." The demon stated matter-of-factly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_He's a demon Yugi… angels aren't meant to like demons." _

Why wouldn't that sentence get out of his head?

Yugi was laying flat on his back, his arms laying motionless by his sides and his legs dangling over the edge of Yami's bed. His large lilac eyes were staring up at the ceiling, his face blank. On the outside the small angel almost looked calm, peaceful even. Inside his mind however, he was having a battle of conflict emotions and thoughts.

Many things were running through the young teen's head, the main subject had only moments ago been the tricolour-haired ruler, but somehow those thoughts had lead him to his previous flashbacks. He didn't really understand how exactly, but they had, and through this pointless thinking Yugi was able to come up with one, quite upsetting, conclusion.

Every memory so far, every thought that connected him to his past, were ones of anguish and loneliness.

Grandpa was never around.

The people at school would just make fun of him…he couldn't recall any school friends.

And is parents… oh God his parents… What happened to them? His mother was in the hospital, but what happened to her after that? Why was she even in the hospital in the first place? What happened to his farther?… They were questions he may never get the answers to… Questions he was unsure in wanting to know the answers to…

Was that it then?… Was that all his life was? He had of yet to remember at least one happy memory… Did that mean he had never been happy? Wasn't he **allowed** to be happy? The horrible realisation gave him a terrible hint to how he may have died. After all, if his life was that bad every minute of everyday… then maybe he was the one who ended it…

Yugi's blank expression crumbled at that thought, and tears suddenly formed in the corners of his eyes.

But Yami made him happy! Last night Yami had made him feel needed. Of course, Ryou and Malik had always been with him, been there to comfort him, help him, love him like a brother, but it was different with Yami. It was a different kind of need. The ruler made him feel special… wanted… loved in a way that no one else but Lord Yami, could love him.

So why?… Why…

"_He's a demon Yugi… angels aren't meant to like demons." _

Why wasn't he allowed to be happy?

It wouldn't be long until he and his friends made their escape, and when that happened, he would be forced to leave Yami forever. He could stay he supposed, refuse to leave, but what would be the point? He would be betraying his friends if he said he would rather stay with the ruler of Hell, than go home with the people that had taken care of him since first stepping into Heaven. He couldn't do that to Ryou and Malik, they meant more to him then that.

Besides, even if his two friends were ok with him staying he couldn't keep the secret of being an angel hidden forever, and as soon as Yami found out the truth… well he'd probably hate him.

But, Yami liked him, right? Last night… that was what people do when they like each other, right? They kiss and hold each other. Yami kissed and held him, among other things… But that's besides the point. Yami liked him. Right?…Right?

Yugi may be naïve, but he wasn't **that **naïve. He was lying to himself, and he knew it, because in the end there was that one distressingly obvious fact that Yugi didn't want to take into account…

….Yami had never said he liked him, not even when they were together last night.

Tears rolled down the spiky-haired angel's cheeks, and he slowly sat up, wiping the watery drops away with his hands.

He needed to stop thinking. He needed to do something, **anything**, to take his mind off his thoughts. Rubbing his eyes one last time to free himself of tears, Yugi desperately scanned the room, searching for something to do. His gaze landed on a small pile of clothes. Upon further inspection, the angel recognized them to be the same clothes he and Lord Yami wore the day before, after they had been carelessly thrown to the ground during last nights… passion.

Shaking his head sadly, Yugi got onto his feet and moved towards the small pile. Reaching out, Yugi gently clutched the delicate fabrics in his hands and lifted them from the floor, placing them onto his master's bed instead.

Take one piece of clothing…

…straighten the material with your hands to get rid of wrinkles…

…Carefully fold…

…take second piece of clothing and repeat.

Straighten the material with your hands to get rid of wrinkles…

…Carefully fold…

…take third piece of clothing and re-

"You don't need to do that."

The young looking teen jumped, the shirt in his hands scrunched and wrinkled in his grip due to his surprise. Nervously turning his head to the side, Yugi peered over his shoulder slowly. His attention was immediately drawn to two soft crimson eyes, accompanied by a mass of spiky tricolour-hair framing a sharp, but concerned face. The gentle look seemed to calm the boy down some-what, and he subconsciously eased his tense grip.

Yami…

"Oh…" The angel replied a little awkwardly. "…Sorry." Yugi mumbled shyly, letting go of the shirt in his hands, and turning round to face the older twin instead.

Now what was he suppose to say?

"Yugi…" The short teen's heart skipped a beat when feeling the rulers hand beginning to caress his cheek. A strange feeling washed over the angel as he watched those ruby red eyes slowly narrow with worry, gazing into his atmosphere orbs as though he could see right into Yugi's sorrowful soul. When someone gave you a look that… that **deep**… it was just impossible to look away. "Is something wrong?"

Wrong? Was it that obvious he was upset?

"N-No Lord Yami, I'm fine." He really was a pathetic liar.

Yami frowned, clearly thinking the same thing as he drew back his hand. "But it looks like you've been crying…"

Little Yugi visibly tensed at the suggestion and he bowed his head in shame, self consciously hugging his arm. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "I-"

"I'm sorry."

Yugi instantly snapped his head up, looking at his master in confusion. Why would Yami be apologising to him?

"This is my fault isn't it?" The ruler continued as he moved towards the bed, sitting close to where Yugi stood, then slouching over to bury his face into his hands.

"W-What? N-No! I just-"

"Don't lie to me Yugi." Yami mumbled, raising his head to look at the boy firmly. "This is about last night isn't it?"

"Lord Yami-" Yugi tried again, but the ruler just wouldn't give him a chance to explain.

"Did I pressure you into it?" The demon asked, though in his mind he was pleading desperately for it to not be true. Yami didn't want it to turn out like this… he didn't want Yugi to hate him…but the ruler was almost certain that that was what had happened. He had woken up that morning to an empty bed and his heart had immediately sank at that fact. He couldn't pretend to not care that Yugi wasn't there laying next to him. Not when he had already admitted to himself that…that he loved him. The demon knew… he **knew **that he should have rushed out of bed, thrown off the bed sheets and found Yugi to make sure he was ok. He almost did too… but the pain had stopped him… no not the pain, the fear. The fear of finding Yugi crying in a corner somewhere, and no matter what he said, no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to make those tears stop. So he had left his bedroom like it was any other day, thinking that if he didn't know… then there would still be hope.

He shouldn't have done that. Now he'd ruined everything…

"Because if I did, I didn't mean to." The demon Lord added hastily. "I'm so sorry Yugi." In the back of his mind, Yami realised how pathetic he looked. The great ruler Yami, one of the most feared demons in Hell asking for forgiveness from a human, and not just any human, but his slave. " I'm so sorry…" But at the same moment he realised that, he also realised just how little he cared.

There was a moment of awkward silence where Yugi just stared at the demon in shock. Why was Yami acting like this? It wasn't his fault! But there he was, slowly crumbling before him, making apologies that he didn't need to make, all for the sake of forgiveness from **him**. No one else. This was all for Yugi.

That at least showed that he cared, right?

The demon watched Yugi timidly move towards him, slowly kneel down, and then lightly lay a hesitant hand on his knee. "I…" The boy's voice was quivering unsurely, and Yami had to fight the urge to hold Yugi's hand reassuringly in his own. "Lord Yami… do you like me…?"

Yami blinked, a little taken back by the question. To be honest, Yami wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the human's reply, but it definitely wasn't that. "Of course I like you Yugi." The ruler answered easily.

Immediately, Yugi beamed a happy smile, and Yami's heart soared at the sight. A split second later, the angel had jumped up from his kneeling position, and pounced onto the Lord's unsuspecting form, the force throwing Yami back as Yugi latched onto him in a relieved hug.

Yami, taking the action as a sign of forgiveness, gave a gentle smile and instantly wrapped his arms around the small human, bringing him into a protective embrace while his loved one cried with what Yami assumed, were tears of happiness.

Happiness? Well….

Yugi sniffed, burying his face into his master's chest, cheeks still wet with tears.

…not quite. It was more like a bittersweet moment. Because in the end…

"_He's a demon Yugi… angels aren't meant to like demons." _

…In the end this was just going to be another sad memory…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bakura walked lazily down the empty hallway, stiffeling a yawn as he approached ever closer to his destination. It was strange how he felt right now. Calm… refreshed… so at ease, and dare he say it… happy? Why the hell was he feeling like this? He hadn't even killed anyone today! All he'd done was take a nap, and then when he woke up, he felt all… different.

Well, ok, that wasn't entirely true, he'd woken up, and yeah he kind of felt refreshed, but so what? It had been a five hour long nap, it was no big surprised that he felt refreshed… but besides from that Bakura had felt his same murderous self.

But then he realised he'd woken up next to Ryou.

It wasn't the first time he had woken up with Ryou, on the contrary, since Ryou's rather _insisted_ visit, the pale teen had rarely left the young ruler's bed. Bakura made sure of it.

Bakura however was never an 'early riser', nor was he a morning person, so it was no big surprise if he'd wake up to find the slave he'd used the night before already awake and cowering at the other side of the room. However, when the demon did wake he found his 'beloved' slave still laying close to him... Peculiar, yes, but not a huge shock. Ryou was… different from his other slaves. He held something… something _more, _something that, in Bakura's opinion, was hard to find in any ordinary human. The boy may not show it too clearly, but it was more than obvious to the young ruler that his slave had…well, Bakura couldn't really find a word to describe it… but Ryou could handle the torment better than most. The torment that Bakura himself had dealt him.

What **did** surprise him was the way in which Ryou was sleeping. Ryou was happily snuggling close to him, arms wrapped around the demon like he was some sort of giant teddy bear, and all the while holding, what looked to be, a tiny grateful smile.

That's when Bakura started to feel strange.

Frowning, Bakura paused in his walking and looked over his shoulder, taking a minute to stare down the dimly lit corridor leading from the room that Ryou was still sleeping peacefully in.

Maybe he should have woken Ryou up? But the human was still recovering from the poison lingering in his system due to Bakura's unintentional attack, it was only right that he rested a while longer. Besides, Ryou had looked so… delicately happy… that Bakura couldn't bring himself to wake him.

Ugh, he sounded like some kind of sap. He shouldn't even care…

No- Wait. He DIDN'T care damn it!

"Then tell me why you're limping!"

Whipping his head back round, Bakura raised a mildly curious brow at the sound of that annoying blonde slave's voice. Putting Ryou to the back of his mind for the time being, Bakura instead continued forwards to reach two large double doors. Opening them easily, the demon casually stepped into the dining hall.

Malik huffed angrily, crossing his arms to give himself a sense of authority, as he glared across the table to give his younger friend a scrutinizing look, the food in front of him untouched. " Tell me Yugi!"

The smaller angel blushed in embarrassment, staring down at his food instead of looking Malik in the eye, as he fiddled his thumbs nervously under the table. "I wasn't limping Malik…"

"Don't lie to me!"

Marik winced slightly at the demanding tone to his beloved kitten's voice. His Malik-pretty had been in a bad mood since this morning. He had so desperately wanted hold him, kiss him repeatedly until he started to feel better, but the copper-skinned ruler had noticed that his advances had only made the human's temperamental attitude worse, and so Marik had regretfully given the boy some space, hoping to calm him down a little bit. It was because of this reason, that Malik-pretty was sat in his own chair, instead of Marik's lap.

"I stubbed my toe." Yugi replied timidly.

"Bullshit!" Malik yelled. "He did something to you," The angel pointed an accusing finger at the tricolour-haired demon sitting next to his fellow angel "didn't he?!"

Yami frowned at the accusation and the obvious discomfort Marik's slave was putting Yugi through. The ruler was just about to speak up when his youngest brother beat him to it.

"Do you ever shut up? Or are you just annoying by nature?" Bakura asked Malik mockingly, his presence finally being noticed, as he stealthily took his place at the table, food and drink already waiting for him.

Malik snapped his head around at the sound of Bakura's voice, about to insult the demon with his own remark, when he realised something. "Where's Ryou?"

Bakura smirked, and after taking a sip of the bloody liquid in his wine glass he replied. "None of your business."

"Of course it's my business!" Malik spat threateningly. "Yugi and Ryou are like my family!" The teen stated firmly, Yugi too began to look worried at the absence of the snowy-haired angel. "Now where is he?" Malik added impatiently.

Bakura smirked again, cackling away evilly in the depths of his mind. He could have some fun with this. He didn't like that rebellious human anyway. "Sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Malik answered disbelievingly. "At this time of day?"

"Guess I wore him out a little." Bakura said again, with a devious smirk.

Malik's fury flickered for a second, and he stared at the white-haired demon worriedly. "Wore him out…?"

Bakura gave a seductive grin, and dipped his middle finger into the red sauce on top of his blue meat. He then made a point of bringing his spiteful tongue out from his mouth and dragging it up his finger at an agonizingly slow pace. When he reached the tip, he sucked on it lightly a few seconds longer, removed the finger from his mouth, and licked his lips.

A VERY suggestive gesture, and by the look on Malik's face, one that he clearly understood.

The blonde angel visibly paled, mouth agape slightly. "Y-You…" Malik stuttered, voice barely above a whisper.

"Malik-pretty…?" Marik asked worriedly at the sickened look across his young slave's face.

There was a moment of silence.

"YOU SICK, TWISTED, SON OF A BITCH!" Malik exploded furiously, his chair being knocked to the floor as he abruptly stood, and his eyes showing a level of such burning hatred, that it was hard to believe it came from an angel. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM LIKE THAT!"

Yugi blinked, his eyes darting between the white-haired demon and his friend rapidly, his naïve mind not understanding what Bakura had been suggesting, nor what Malik was talking about, but still looking extremely unnerved by it. Though he was some-what relieved to have the tanned-angel's attention taken off him.

Bakura however found the blonde's behaviour highly amusing, not feeling the least bit intimidated by the vicious glare he was receiving from the other end of the table, it certainly made him feel more like his bastard self, instead of the sap caring over Ryou's actions mere moments ago. He was happy about that, and found himself laughing wickedly at Malik's expense. Though he did recognize the slight irony to the situation. The one time Bakura did something for the good of Ryou's well being, was the same time Ryou's friends bite his head off for it . It was like he was getting punished for doing something relatively _nice_ for once.

But of course Marik's pet knew nothing of this, and because of Bakura's dark humour, that thought only made him laugh harder. Oh, what fun this was!

"You think it's funny freak?!" Malik seethed, fists clenched, causing knuckles to turn white, and nails digging into his palms with enough pressure to draw blood.

How dare that bastard put Ryou through the same thing Marik put **him **through! It was unforgivable! Poor Ryou was probably tied up in the demons bedroom right now, scared, bleeding, and crying to be let out!

Yugi's eyes widened considerably, suddenly feeling a familiar tingly sensation at the back of his mind. He instantly glued his eyes to Malik. It may have not been obvious to the rulers, but it was more than obvious to Yugi what his friend was about to do. The angel's aura was growing. Malik only did this back home in the training hall, usually before a big sparring match. But never… NEVER, had Malik forced so much of his energy this high, and what was even more worrying, was that the aura had yet to stop growing. It was continuing to increase. **Fast**.

"M-Malik." The small angel tried nervously. Malik was really angry, his aura was proof of that…

…and it scared him.

"I find **you** funny, human." The youngest brother spoke, pausing in his cruel cackling. "However, what I do with Ryou is my business. I don't give a fuck how close you are to him, I **own** him." The demon continued in a frighteningly possessive tone. "Therefore I'll always be…" He gave a crooked smile, allowing Malik to catch the double meaning to his words. "…_closer _to him than you."

"Bastard…" That was it, Malik's anger reached its peek. Yugi gave a sharp dreaded gasp. To the untrained eye it would have been missed, but he could have sworn he saw a faint golden glow beginning to cover Malik's form.

Yugi didn't think, he just reacted.

"MALIK!" Yugi yelled urgently. Yami could only watch, as his dear slave bolted from his chair, his image being a mere blur in front of his red crimson eyes. Each ruler gave the other a questionable look at the boy's strange behaviour, but whatever the reason behind Yugi's quick dash, it seemed to be between Yugi and Malik, since the boy only stopped in his mad rush to cling to Malik.

"Yugi! What are you--?!…" Malik's tone snapped harshly, gritting his teeth angrily as he turned his head away from the white-haired demon to the one gripping him around the waist.

"Don't do it!" Yugi cut in. "Ryou wouldn't want you to!- I don't want you to!- If you do-- I mean you can't!…" Yugi babbled, tears welling up in his wide eyes resembling a scared child. "They'll know…" He suddenly whispered, daring a quick glance at the three rulers.

Malik's angry sneer gradually dropped into a concerned frown the longer he stared into Yugi's pleading face. Yugi was right… If he were to suddenly attack the demon the same way he would spar with an angel in Heaven (wings and all), well… it wouldn't take an idiot to see what the blonde 'human' really was. After the rulers figured that out, then they would immediately suspect his friends as well.

He'd blow their chance of escaping.

"Yugi, what's going on?" Yami steadily rose from his chair, worried about Yugi's sudden state, and intent on bringing him safely back to his chair. "Is something-"

"You stay away from him." Malik suddenly snapped warningly at the tricolour-haired ruler, Yugi's unexplained limp still fresh in his mind as he quickly wrapped an arm around the smaller angel, acting just like an overprotective brother. Malik then cast his gaze back to Bakura. "And **you** better watch your back." He snarled darkly.

Bakura merely watched him with amused eyes.

"But Malik, Lord Yami didn't-" Yugi tried to stand up for his master, but was cut off by his own sharp 'eep', as his copper-skinned allie began dragging him towards the door.

"Wait Malik-pretty! Where are you going?"

Ignoring Marik completely, Malik swung open the door with his free hand, but instead of seeing an empty hallway, the angel instead came face-to-face with none other than Lord Kaiba.

Malik and Seto stared at each other for a moment, and upon realising that neither one was going to politely move to the side and allow the other person to pass, Malik forcefully pushed past the taller demon, having more important things on his mind than start another argument.

The violet-eyed angel stomped down the corridor, not stopping to even consider glancing back as he continued to drag Yugi by the hand behind him. Although, he couldn't quite block out the sound of the demons conversation that seemed to flutter out of the opened door dining hall, and straight to his ears.

"Don't you usually just mystically appear into a room?"

"Yami asked me to knock this time."

"…."

"…How goes the potion Seto?"

"That's why I'm here."

This caused the two angels to pause in their walking, Malik with eagerness and Yugi with some sort of wary disappointment, both paying closer attention to the subject being discussed.

"I thought you would all be happy to know that I've managed to finish it."

"That's excellent Seto!"

"Where is it then?"

"Currently more of the potion is being made. We have a good number of humans living in Hell so I needed to make sure I could make enough. There will be plenty of it by tomorrow afternoon."

"So we will be able to start the search tomorrow then?"

"Yes."

From that point on Malik stopped listening, instead a smug smirk appeared on his face, and his eyes sparkled deviously. With the search being held tomorrow, it meant that the day of his, Yugi's and Ryou's escape would also be tomorrow.

It was about time too! Finally he'd be able to get his friends out of this horrid place. He and his friends would be free again. Yugi wouldn't have to put up with his suspicious look-a-like, and Ryou would no longer have to deal with that sick, twisted, no good, perverted… **THING** anymore! The violet-eyed teen would be able to keep his friends safe again, because he would never, under any circumstances, make Ryou and Yugi leave Heaven again, it was a stupid thing to do, and Malik regretted it greatly. No, he would make sure that his two fellow angels stayed happily and protected behind Heavens gates, like they were suppose to be.

Everything would be ok. They would be home by tomorrow afternoon, and then they could even tell the Elders about the demons plans involving the humans. That was the thing that got them in this mess in the first place after all…

The feeling of a slight trembling from his hand broke Malik from his thoughts. Glancing to his side the blonde angel was surprised to see Yugi shaking with a solemn look upon his face. Was Yugi upset? But why? This was good news after all!… It must be nerves.

The tanned teen gave the smaller hand clasped in his own a small squeeze. "Don't worry Yugi, it'll be ok." Malik whispered reassuringly.

Yugi's large lilac eyes quickly snapped up to Malik, and he nodded slowly… but of course it wasn't nerves that had Yugi so upset… Oh why did Yami have to be a demon? Why did their kind have to be enemies? But most importantly…Why did it have to be wrong?…

This was it. After today he would never see Lord Yami again.

The two angels continued their way down the hallway, most likely hoping to find their third missing friend. However, if the two were to just stay put a second longer, they may have been given a reason to put their escape plan on hold…

"Was there something else Seto?"

"I also came to inform you of a suspicious human found outside of Hell's gates early this morning…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These chapters just keep getting longer and longer don't they? So, yeah… anyone still remember this story? I can't believe it took me so long to update, but I have yet to finish all of my exams. However, a lot of my exams will be coming up over the next couple of weeks, which means after that I will have more time to write and it shouldn't take me this long to update again. I don't particulary like this chapter so I'm sorry if any of you found it boring, but I assure you it was needed in order to get everything ready for chapter 15 (and that's where all the action is). Also, I've herd that review responses aren't allowed in chapters? So I may just reply to reviews through the fanfiction messaging system. So on that note I thought I would leave you all with something to look forward to…

Chapter 15: It's the day of the escape, and the rulers have started their hunt for angels! Will Ryou, Malik, and Yugi be able to get out of there before their masters find out the truth? Things don't quite work out the way they planned… The rulers are in for a shock…but then again, so are the angels…

**Please Review! **(Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! It was the most replies I ever got for a chapter, and they really did push me to carry on with it).

**wingless-tenshi: **Yugi's back!

**Landi McClellan: **Thank you

**bakura240: **I don't know how Malik's been able to resist Marik so far lol. Bakura will come to his senses eventually… hopefully.

**xRyouAngelx: **Thank you Sorry for the long wait!

**AnimeNymph: **They all rock (Ryou rocks the most though lol).

**Adhiana: **Wasn't quite Seto… good guess though I made sure to have more of Yugi and Yami in this time too.

**Serzie: **Poor Jou, he has to be the exception ()

**reedtard: **Thank you for the reviews! Glad you're enjoying it!

**Rogue1979: **The story wouldn't be complete without Joey lol.

**The Copper Arabian: **Thank you. I actually read that story about…I think it was two years ago now… If you want to read more stories by this author then you can find her on Glad to know you're liking the story!

**Belladonna (Goddess Chloe)**: Thanks! (I've actually uploaded a new video a few days ago).

**DarthAnimus: **Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. As you can see this chapter did have some Seto/Katsuya in it… sort of… well they finally met anyway! Sorry about the long wait!

**S.L Shiro-san: **Sorry to keep you waiting, and thanks I'm glad. You'll have to wait and find out about the rest and what Jou will say! (Though that shouldn't be long).

**A.YamiYugi: **Thank you!

**pharaoh's-little-chibi 42: **Thanks, I'm glad!

**ShyObsession: **Thanks, I'm glad you think so. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
**FanFicFanGurl101: **No! Don't cry! See? Seto and Jou finally met each other in this chapter…

**Mei1105: **Thanks!

**Muffin234**: Thank you. Sorry I made you wait so long.

**Kenata**: Really? Thanks!

**Andrea: **lol Thank you! Sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Freak0592: **Can you believe I finally managed to update it? Lol (Thanks for the messages by the way).

**Dark'nLightAngel: **Happy to know you like it so much!


	15. Chapter 15

-1Chapter 15

It was beautiful.

The scene was serene, magical even, almost as though it was it was taken directly out of a fairytale and placed comfortably into reality instead. The land, though covered in darkness, was highlighted with a gentle silver glow making the long grass shimmer every time a soft breeze swooped across the earth. Large willow-like trees circled a wide growing lake, creamy-white blooms littering the plants branches as they draped themselves over the lake's soft rippling water. Beneath the trees and amongst the strands of grass were hundreds of wild flowers, all of which were deep blues, purples, and heavenly whites, some bunched together to create the look of colourful blankets, covering the ground during its light slumber throughout the night. A full circular moon hung itself above the landscape, its image reflected in the lake's calmly swaying mirror, and its glowing rays sparkling as they hit the current's gentle waves.

A lone figure sitting down the side of a low mountain edge admired the scene with awe, his long white hair fluttering around his shoulders as the wind toyed with the locks playfully, and his chocolate-brown eyes wide with wonder as they stared out into the distance with admiration.

It was all just so… breathtaking.

Ryou's eyes were half lidded as he took in every detail of his surroundings, taking pleasure in the soothing effect the atmosphere seemed to have on him as it silently caressing his soul with the up-most care and attention. The boy's mind was in so much of a blissful haze that coherent thoughts were struggling to get through, and after a while they just seemed to stop altogether.

The only thing the angelic teen seemed to be aware of was the chilly night air as the wind picked up a little to brush itself teasingly against the other's perfectly flawless skin, resulting in a shiver to wreck violently throughout Ryou's frail frame. The boy wrapped his arms around himself in a fruitless attempt to keep warm, but the seemingly 'magical' night looked to have other plans as it only continued to wash over its guest time and time again, refusing the boy's hopeless request for warmth strongly.

Ryou was just about to give up his hopes of staying warm when the sound of footsteps, slowly but surly moving closer from behind him, suddenly caught his attention.

Confusion quickly found its place upon the angel's face and he curiously looked over his shoulder. For some reason Ryou hadn't counted on finding another person's presence here. He just assumed he would be here by himself.

Confusion quickly turned to fear however when he saw who the unaccounted for visitor was.

A sleek, yet muscular toned male was making its way ever closer to where Ryou sat. Wild jagged tresses covered the male's head, and ghostly pale skin covered his form. Large leathery wings were attached to his back, fanned out gloriously to their full length as the demon continued to move fluently forward, the wind offering no resistance to slow the other down. Although the being looked to be alert and on guard, as though ready to lash out like Ryou had come unfortunately accustomed to when around the other, there were certain details that contradicted that predatory normality. The demon's tail was relaxed and slightly curved, and the weapon on the end of that tail tightly shut, not even slightly open in the case of a surprise attack. His eyes, though usually fierce, sadistic, and in many cases lustful when targeted on Ryou, were unusually tame and…. considerate.

The angel had immediately jumped to his feet and hastily spun round to face his master, maybe even try to run, but before he knew it Bakura was already standing in front of him, within touching distance, and efficiently blocking any chance of an escape.

The demon's arm slowly began to rise, and Ryou, not knowing what else to do and still in a state of panic, instantly closed his eyes and turned his face away to brace himself. Although Bakura had only ever hit him once during a time when they had barley known each other, and hadn't even properly met, Ryou had bared witness to many of Bakura's attacks on others, and he himself had had gone through unnecessary rough treatment and **greatly** painful experiences… The cautious action was to be expected…

An odd weight was felt over his shoulders and the feeling of soft, but thick, cotton against his skin startled Ryou enough to open his eyes.

A blanket?

Ryou quickly fixed his eyes back on Bakura, confusion tainting his once content face as he stared at the demon as though expecting the action to trigger some sort of cruel prank for his master's amusement. The demon however only stared back, his hands still set comfortably on the boy's shoulders where he held the fabric tight and still around the younger male's body.

"You looked cold." Was the only reason Bakura gave to Ryou aloud, but his eyes seemed to hold so many more…

The unusual kind and simple words took the angel by surprise, and he honestly didn't know whether to be grateful for the kind gesture or even more on his toes in case Bakura was playing with him and suddenly turned back into his usual gruff self. He just didn't know what to say.

However, when Bakura began to slowly lean in closer, face eerily contorted into something that Ryou could not figure out, the angel quickly found his voice again, not wanting to find out what his master was about to do. "Don't-"

"Sssh…"

The demon hushed him softly, a gentle sound that seemed almost unbecoming when coming from someone usually so harsh and brash. Bakura then carefully ran a lean finger up his captive's throat and let it rest comfortably beneath the boy's chin, successfully tilting the angel's face ever-so-slightly upwards, while at the same time holding it firmly in place without the need of hurting him.

Ryou could only watch as the ruler brought his mouth closer to the angel's own, until finally the inevitable happened and their lips collided into a fated kiss. Ryou knew it was going to happen, but when it did… it shocked him completely. It wasn't the fact that Bakura kissed him, the ruler had done that many times whether Ryou was willing or not. It was the fact that the kiss was so… innocent… tender even. It was just completely un-Bakura like. He didn't even **attempt** to force his tongue down his throat… didn't even **try **to deepen it in his ordinarily expected lust-filled haze…

Slowly, those commonly demanding lips were eased off its bewildered partner's almost reluctantly, the owner of those lips now choosing instead to encase his arms around the other's body to press it gratefully against his own.

Bakura was HUGGING him! It was beyond strange, but what Ryou found even stranger… was that he was enjoying it…

No, something was wrong. Bakura was just being too- too nice! It was too perfect! Too surreal! It had to be some kind of… some kind of…

…dream…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiered lids slowly began to lift thick black lashes heavenwards, revealing drowsy eyes still fogged from a night of sleep. The fitted maroon sheet that covered the bed's mattress was the first thing that Ryou recognized once his vision cleared, shaking the last reminisce of sleep from his system.

What on _earth_ was **that**?

Bakura was- and he was- he felt-!… it was just all so real!… But why would he imagine something like that? He didn't like the way Bakura touched him, he **hated** it, so why did he fantasize about Bakura doing exactly that?… Then again the Bakura he was dreaming about moments ago had given him a different touch compared to the demon made of flesh and blood. There was no snarls… no force… only reassurance, almost like Bakura was silently trying to gain his trust… He shouldn't think too much into it though. It didn't mean anyth-

Ugh! Why did his chest feel so tight?!

It was true that the dream did somewhat disturb Ryou, but the uncomfortable pressure on his chest had fought for his attention violently, a battle that that restricting throb had easily won. Pulling the bed sheet back with delicate care, Ryou revealed the pressure to be bandages wrapped around his torso.

How could he forget the bandages?

-------Small Flashback------

"Ryou!? RYOU?!"

"Malik calm down! Y-You're going to hurt him…!"

Ryou's eyes had shot open in panic, the feeling of someone shaking him viciously had woken him in a matter of seconds, and a wild state of alarm had blasted through his limbs. When the white-haired teen had gathered his senses he noticed Malik's face very close to his own, worry clearly visible in his amethyst depths before relief took over and words of 'thank God' were shouted into the room. The next thing he knew he was pulled up into a sitting position, tanned arms clinging onto him desperately with his face pressed into Malik's chest as well as Malik's weight sitting on his thighs.

"Oh God Ryou! We didn't know what happened to you! You weren't at dinner, and that fucker kept saying-!… And you were just laying there!" Malik was acting hysterical, angry, and relieved all at once but Ryou had no idea why, and the more Malik rambled on the worse Ryou's confusion grew.

"What-?" The pale angel had begun to say the first thing that popped into his head, but before he could finish his question another voice had spoke up instead.

"Malik kept saying that Bakura did something to hurt you!" Yugi sobbed out loudly, and it was then that Ryou realised a second pair of arms had clamped round his waist, hugging him from behind, and the feeling of a small damp patch growing on his back. "Did he hurt you Ryou? You can tell us! I-I'll tell Lord Yami!"

Malik visibly stiffened at Yugi's suggestion, the words disturbing him greatly, but before he could comment on how ridiculous the idea was, or why Yugi would even think telling the other ruler would work in their favour, Ryou had found his voice again.

"Both of you calm down." Ah, the voice of reason, something Ryou was reliable for when problems between the three arose. "Bakura didn't hurt me." Not intentionally anyway…

Malik looked at Ryou firmly. "Oh yeah? Then why do you have bandages around your torso?" Suddenly the blonde angel's eyes widened and his grip around the teen loosened considerably. "I forgot about your bandages! We're not h-?"

"Bandages?" Ryou asked before Malik could finish his question, immediately pulling the cover down his chest a little to get a better look. Indeed he found bandages wrapped around his chest, stopping just above his stomach. Since when were they there?… Had Bakura done that? It was just a scratch though, the wound wasn't deep, there was really no need for him to go through the trouble of applying bandages…

Still… it was nice of him to go through the trouble…

"You didn't know?" Yugi asked softly from behind him, his arms having already let go of Ryou's waist in fear of hurting his friend once Malik mentioned the hidden wound again.

The chocolate-eyed teen looked over his shoulder to give his friend a warm smile. "I forgot, but don't worry Yugi I just got scratched yesterday and wanted to sleep in a bit. It doesn't hurt at all, see?" Ryou proved his point by stretching his arms above his head and twisting his upper-body from side to side without a hint of discomfort on his face. "So don't cry ok?" The angel finished with a comforting smile.

Yugi's face immediately brightened, satisfied with the example given that Ryou was perfectly well and wrapped his arms back to where they were originally placed around Ryou's waist. "I'm glad."

"You swear he didn't do anything?" Malik seemed a little less convinced though… "You're honestly not hurt?"

"I'm fine, I promise."

-------End Small Flashback------

Bakura must have wrapped fresh bandages around him last night while he was sleeping. They were just a tad too tight though. He just needed to pull them a little to loosen them-

"If needs be I'll brake both your arms to make sure you stop tugging at those bandages."

Ryou instantly snapped his head up at the sound of his master's threat, now realising that, surprisingly, Bakura was already up, out of bed, and fully dressed. His back was faced to the other as he stood in front of the mirror placed opposite of the king-sized bed, obviously having caught Ryou's actions by seeing his slave's reflection in the glass. He was staring at Ryou's reflection in the mirror, giving him a rather scrutinizing look while he carelessly brushed a hand down the right sleeve of his opened-collar black shirt, a small part of the material crossing in a type of 'X' pattern all the way down the left sleeve to show off the ruler's flawlessly tempting white skin. Lower down he wore, as usual, dark leather trousers, complete with silver chains.

A very intimidating and daring outfit that seemed to complement both Bakura's personality and behaviour perfectly.

The demon turned away from the glass to face his 'human', offering the other a rather demented smirk while his eyes stayed fixed on Ryou's own, daring him to just **try **and place a finger on the white strips tied around his chest. "And you know I'll do it…" The words were almost purred out, like the demon was getting some sort of perverse satisfaction at just suggesting the idea.

Ryou didn't have to be told twice. The angel instantly removed the hands once grasping the white layers irritably, and quickly hid his arms behind his back, as though scared that Bakura would chop the limbs off if they were not hid safely from his view.

How could he have even **imagined** the demon being nice to him? The ruler was horrible!.. He had hurt him in so many ways… terrified him on so many levels… and yet, deep down in Ryou's heart, he couldn't help thinking that, maybe… just _maybe_… in Bakura's own disturbingly twisted way…

The ruler didn't say anything, still staring at Ryou with that demented, dominant, smirk on his face… until he caught Ryou's reaction… The look he was given when those two arms were scarcely rushed behind the boy's back… the smirk only lasted a couple of seconds longer until it completely dropped, replaced instead by a irritable, maybe even confused, frown.

…he cared…

Ryou simple wrote it off as wishful thinking though.

"What's wrong with them anyway?" Bakura suddenly spat grouchily, glaring at the teen as he made his way over to the side of the bed in which Ryou was laying. "Too tight?" He accused.

Ryou almost didn't answer, afraid that if he said anything it would cause Bakura's anger to worsen, but since Bakura only continued to glare down at him, he decided it best to reply. "J-Just a little…"

The next thing he knew Bakura was down on his knees, carefully placing his hands on his chest and stomach, and then grabbing the end of the bandage himself.

Ryou blinked in surprise and quickly reached his own hands out to stop him. "M-Master Bakura, you really d-don't need to-"

A loud warning growl met the polite complaint, and remembering Bakura's earlier threat, Ryou quickly reclined his arms back, leaving Bakura to do the task himself.

Yes, it was definitely wishful thinking. He just didn't understand why he wished it… especially today…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damn it, when was that big oaf going to wake up?!

Malik was laid on his back, anxiously waiting for the demon sleeping beside him to hurry and wake up. This wasn't because he was desperate to talk or spend time with the other however. The reason to Malik's flexing hands and twitching fingers was because he wanted the day to _**finally**_ start. Today was a very special day after all. Unfortunately for Malik the day couldn't start until Marik woke up. More so because of the fact that Marik kept locking the bedroom door during the night, and no matter how many times the angel tried moving to unlock the door himself (key or not he **would** open it), Marik would always sense him trying to leave then bed and in result would latch onto him and pull him back against the demon's chest. It was annoying really, not to mention unsettling. Though Malik had managed to find a pair of light purple pyjama bottoms to wear during the night, Marik would always sleep naked. Malik had always been worried that the ruler planned to advance on him and take his body by force like the first night, the locked door being Marik's way of saying he couldn't escape, but so far that had yet to happen…

Good thing too, otherwise Malik would have beaten the bastard to a bloody pulp!

…If Marik wasn't going to wake up soon Malik was going to scream in the weirdo's ear…

The angel sighed. He really needed to keep calm. It's not like he wouldn't wake up eventually… Oh, but he couldn't help it! He was just so excited! The tanned-teen just couldn't seem to keep himself still! So in means of giving himself something to do, Malik decided to check on the small 'surprises' hidden under the bed.

Sitting up, Malik let the sheets slide down his body to pool around his hips instead, learning over the side of the bed with his head dangling upside-down as he peered under the boards holding up the mattress. There, standing undisturbed in the bed's shadow, was a pair of pink fluffy boots, and inside those boots happened to be the little 'surprises' Malik was so eager to put to use. The angel realised how risky it was to hide the stolen potions in the ruler's bedroom, and he honestly though about hiding them somewhere that would seem more suitable, but his options were limited. He thought about hiding them somewhere inside the castle, a place where nobody would pay much attention to, behind a bookcase or inside a statue for example, but the idea was quickly dismissed. For one thing he _still_ hadn't managed to figure out where everything in the castle was, there were too many rooms and an endless amount of corridors for Malik to not get confused. He didn't want to risk putting the potions in a place he wouldn't be able to find again later. Secondly, there seemed to be a lot of slaves/servants running around that kept the castle clean. If one of them came across the potions then it would have immediately arose more suspicion.

After realising that Marik didn't pay much attention to tidiness in his room however (it being one of the many chores that Lord Kaiba had insisted was Malik's responsibility… yeah right, as if he was going to clean up Marik's mess!), Malik had decided to leave the potions in those silly pink boots and tuck them under the bed. The angel had taken a chance and it had thankfully paid off. Marik was none the wiser-

"Mmm… Malik-pretty…"

Malik suddenly felt an arm snake around his waist, followed by a hand touching his stomach. Fingers traced small circles in his skin and skimming across his bellybutton. Lips were pressed against his bare back, soft kisses trailing up and down his spine along with a warm tongue darting out to hungrily lap at his bronze flesh.

Malik instantly froze.

"**Get. Off**." The words were punched out harsh and clear, commanding and cold.

The demon frowned into his loved one's back. When would Malik-pretty get over this silly fear? He had been fighting the urge to touch his pretty human for so long, it was unbearable! Despite Marik's need to hold the other close, to press his body against his own, to relentlessly taste him and kiss him sweetly, Marik stilled his actions and slowly removed himself from the other's body.

As soon as he was let go, Malik quickly sat up, threw the covers back, and jumped out of bed, not wanting the ruler to catch the unnerved expression that he quickly wiped from his face, or for Marik to try and grab him again. Once he got his emotions back in check, the tanned-teen spun round to face his master with an annoyed glare. "What? You going to just lay there all day? Get out of bed, get dressed, and lets go."

Marik stared at him a while longer, a little unsure why his slave was acting so eager. Malik noticed this. "I'm hungry and I want to go see my friends." He added shortly as though the answer was obvious.

Marik sighed tiredly, disappointedly even, but did as Malik asked, or rather told, without question and pulled himself out of bed.

Malik waited until Marik's back was turned before dropping to his knees and reaching under the bed. Ugh, he shouldn't have pushed them so far back… Stretching his right arm out as far as he could, Malik was just able to grab the boots and pull them out from hiding.

"What are you doing Malik-pretty?"

The angel jumped when hearing the demon's voice behind him, and hastily turned round on reflex. How was Marik able to sneak up on him so quickly? He could have sworn he was walking over to the dresser at the other side of the room less than a second ago!

The demon's brows knitted together in confusion for a moment when noticing the pink kitten-boots gripped tightly in the other blonde's hands, his expression then suddenly changing serious, looking into his slave's eyes as though he was reading Malik's thoughts. The look worried Malik greatly, and his grip on the boots tightened considerably. He couldn't get caught now! Not when they were so close to getting out!

"No Malik-pretty."

Malik's eyes widened, his knuckles turning white. Had Marik known all along what he was planning? Had he known what was inside those boots all this time?

The demon placed both his hands over Malik's own, clasping them gently but firmly. "I won't let you." The words were stern, offering no room for argument.

It all caused Malik's heart to beat furiously in his chest, the fear of his, Ryou's, and Yugi's chance of escape now looking to be washed down the drain. He couldn't take it! He couldn't believe what was happening! Marik had known all along!? How!? How could everything just suddenly come tumbling down all at once?! Where were the signs? Their warning to say that their plan had no hope to begin with?… How could he and his friends fail before they had a chance to begin?… No! He wouldn't let this happen! He would fight Marik-

The distressed teen was cut off from his thoughts when one of Marik's hands left his own to rest on the angel's cheek instead, cupping the side of his face delicately. "Don't wear the kitten costume anymore." The ruler whispered softly.

…What?…

This time it was Malik's turn to look confused, watching Marik give him a look of understanding, and for some strange reason…comfort…

--------Small Flashback-------

"Are you sure Ryou?" Malik pressed on. The angel wasn't about to let the subject drop unless he was sure the snowy-haired teen was really ok.

"Honestly Malik, I'm fine." The other reassured, giving Malik his familiar warm smile to further sustain the supposed fact.

Malik frowned a little at the answer, not quite believing his friend's words to be true. It's not like Malik didn't trust Ryou, on the contrary, Ryou was one of the most trustworthy people he had ever met. Ryou however was more of a sacrificial person, an angel who would suffer in silence. He was a noble being who would rather keep to himself than bother other people with his problems, especially if those problems would cause others to become upset. He just didn't think he was worth another's tears. That fact in itself saddened Malik. He had always tried to bring Ryou out of his shell, but no matter the number of subtle attempts the older angel had used, it had never worked.

Malik's frown deepened slightly but decided that maybe it was best to leave the subject be for the time being. Oh, he would be sure to question Ryou about this later until he felt satisfied with the answer given, but for now he would give him the benefit of the doubt. There was important news to share with the other after all…

"If you say so." Malik ended suspiciously, and then much to Ryou's relief, changed the subject. "Me and Yugi have some good news though." A large grin suddenly stretched across Malik's face, Ryou continuing to listen to him curiously. "Say goodbye to that bastard you call Master, because we're getting out of here!"

"You mean-?"

"The rulers are starting their search tomorrow, which means while there're busy looking for the **real** angel that started all this mess, we'll already be half way home!" Malik explained excitedly

"That's…" The paler angel paused, as though trying to process the information but having trouble coming up with an actual opinion, like he wasn't sure of exactly what he thought. "…great!" Ryou finally answered simply with lack of a better reply.

"Isn't it? Just you two wait, we'll be free before you know it!" The blonde added enthusiastically, not really noticing Ryou's trouble to reply, Malik merely thought it to be a mix of shock and happiness at finding out it was **finally** going to happen rendering Ryou to become a little speechless. Hey, it made sense right?

"But…" Yugi, who had been quiet throughout the entire explanation and still not having moved from his place behind Ryou, suddenly decided to speak up again. "…can we really do this Malik?…" The small boy's face was once again lightly pressed into his older friend's back, successful hiding his expression from the two other angels at his rather peculiar spoken question. Yugi had said it not in a nervous way, or even in an anxious way, it held a more… sorrowful tone to it. "…Can we really do this?…" He whispered again, as though in a place far away.

Malik's grin once again dropped into a frown, answering the question confidently, arrogantly even. "Of course we can Yugi."

--------End Small Flashback-------

"It's ok Malik-pretty, don't wear it."

Oh, so Marik thought the reason he got out the boots were because he was going to wear the cat suit? HA! As if he was going to wear that ridiculous getup again! Really, why would Marik think he would even consider wearing that stupid thing after all the complaining he did about wearing it before?

The hand resting at the angel's cheek began stroking the skin gently before slipping behind the others head, bringing Malik's face closer to his own. Malik, not liking the other drawing him so close, tried to pull his head back without the need of letting go of the boots, but Marik's hold on the slave stayed strong, the pressure on the back of his head overpowering Malik's struggles with ease. Whatever the reason for the ruler's rather forceful actions he obviously thought it necessary, and continued to press his forehead against the angel's own in an innocent gesture of affection. The smaller teen would have started to argue violently at the position the demon had insisted on putting him in, but what his look-a-like whispered next managed to stop him.

"Don't wear it just because of me." The words were spoken so sensitively it actually felt intimate with their faces so close together…

The anger that had begun building up as soon as Marik placed his hand on Malik's head had quickly dropped to the level of nonexistent at that, and he briefly closed his eyes. Marik thought he was going to wear those cat-like clothes in an attempt to make his master happy? Was he insane?…What was he talking about, of course Marik was insane! As if he would do anything _**close**_ to a _**tiny**_ favour for that idiot, let alone go through the embarrassment of wearing those supposed 'clothes' again! The idea was just too funny! Hilarious even!…

…Wait, if it was so amusing then why didn't he feel like laughing?… Not even an urge for a quick quirk of the lips… Not even a hint of a chuckle… What was wrong with him?

"Malik-pretty…"

"…_But… can we really do this Malik?"_

It wasn't funny… It was something else… He felt… something else… Remorse? No, but it something close. It was… it was… guilt? Why? What did he have to feel guilty about?

"…_Can we really do this?…"_

The demon's right hand, the one once covering Malik's smaller ones, reached up to gently grasp his 'human's' chin, tilting the other's face upwards slightly so the angel's lips were level with his own.

There was nothing to feel guilty about.

"_Of course we can Yugi." _

Malik's eyes suddenly shot open and he roughly pulled himself out of Marik's grasp, narrowly escaping the kiss about to be placed upon his mouth and tumbling back to fall onto the bed. The demon looked down at the other worriedly, reaching out to help his loved one back onto his feet, but Malik slid back at the offered hand.

"Don't tell me what to do!" The smaller boy spat, swinging his legs round to plant his feet firmly on the ground at the other side of the bed and standing to glare at the other angrily. He then wasted no time in charging over to the wardrobe and rummaging through the clothes. The quicker he got ready, the quicker he'd be able to get out of the suffocating dungeon known as Marik's bedroom.

But then he realised something…

What could he possibly wear that would not only cover his skin but also hide the potions? All the clothes that Marik had supplied him with were very tight fitting, showed a ridiculous amount of skin, and had virtually no pockets. Even if he tried to tuck them in some of the fabrics folds, the shape of the bottles would still stick out and be completely noticeable… Not even his old clothes would be capable of hiding all three potions… but if that was the case then his only other option was…

Malik looked down at the kitten boots again.

"This is completely unfair…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was it… the last day…no it wasn't even a full day, it was more like the last morning… Why did this have to be so sad for him? He was doing the right thing, he knew he was… or at least that's what he kept telling himself anyway…

Yugi was laying on his master's mattress, once again staring up at the ceiling with a blank look upon his face, feeling empty, and to a point, drained. The angel was no longer trying to sort out the storm of thoughts that were only yesterday threatening to destroy his mind. He had already blocked them out, accepted the decision that had already been made for him. He didn't have a choice. Though that was not to say that the choice made was wrong.

The small angel let out a depressed sigh.

Leaving Hell was for the best, he couldn't stay here. He didn't belong here. Lord Yami would get over him soon enough. The demon would get a new… slave… The thought of the word 'slave' struck a troubled pain in the boy's heart, but that's what he was right? No matter how the ruler treated him that's what a human's title was here. The fact that he was really an angel didn't make it any better either, the title would just change to 'deceased' instead, because that's what demons did to angels. They killed them. If Lord Yami were to find out the truth… would he kill him too?… Maybe not, but that would be the first thing to spring into the ruler's head, even if it was in the form of dread… It was a horrible thought, but really, what would the ruler do if Yugi put him in that situation?

"What's wrong?"

Yugi jumped, a little startled at the deep sonorous voice coming from beside him. Turning to lay on his side Yugi was quickly met with Yami's concerned face, his crimson eyes fixed on the angel's own soft lilac ones. The small slave had thought his master to be asleep, but it seemed he had obviously been mistaken. Who knew how long the demon had been watching him?

"Why would you think something's wrong Lord Yami?" Yugi tried to make his words sound light, curious and amused. After all, Yami wouldn't be able to tell that he was lying if he didn't actually lie.

"You shouldn't dodge my question with another question Yugi." The ruler stated calmly. Yugi's effort didn't go unnoticed however, and the tall-tale signs of a small smile was threatening to find it's place on the ruler's face, though it didn't look to be a happy one. "One minute you have a huge grin on your face, looking to be the happiest you could possibly be, and then the next…" The spiky-haired demon paused there, the slowly awakening smile now dropping all together. "…you're practically in tears."

The slave squirmed a little at the reply, unsure of what to do or say next and feeling dreadfully uncomfortable with the situation. Yami noticed this and decided to try a different approach. The demon carefully wrapped his arms around the younger and lifted him up slightly so the other's body was half laying on top of the ruler's own, Yugi's head now resting under the older male's chin with his cheek cushioned by his master's chest.

"You do trust me, don't you Yugi?" Yami questioned delicately, that rich voice practically purring into his ears.

The smaller being felt the other's long black tail stretch out from beneath him, the extra limb slithering up from his ankle and wrapping itself snugly around his left leg. If this were any other demon Yugi would have been scared by this action, fearing the other's intentions, but this wasn't any other demon, and the action merely made Yugi feel more secure in his master's embrace.

The answer came to him easily. "Yes."

The ruby-eyed male smiled again. "And you must also realise how much I trust you?"

The angel flinched at those honest words. How could Yami trust him when he hadn't been honest from the beginning?

------Small Flashback-------

"Yugi, don't get all worried again. I already told you that everything's going to work out fine. I swear, after tomorrow morning you won't have to see Yami's mug ever again."

Malik didn't realise how much of a painful impact those words caused Yugi, nevertheless the shorter friend nodded his head into Ryou's back to show he understood, and to give the illusion that he was 'grateful'. He really should have let go of Ryou's waist by now, there was no reason for him to still cling onto his friend so tightly, Ryou was fine after all… but he couldn't help it. He was holding onto Ryou for himself. **He** needed comfort, and he knew better than to think that Ryou would pull away or question him when he needed that. In fact it only took Ryou a second to realise Yugi was troubled and the boy soon felt those soft pale hands cover his own from where they clasped together over Ryou's stomach. Maybe Ryou had some suspicions about what Yugi was feeling, or maybe he thought the same as Malik and blamed it wholeheartedly on nerves… but whatever the reason Ryou did not hesitate with questions, and Yugi was thankful for that.

"Now here's what's going to happen." Malik began to explain. "All three of us need to stick together in order for this to work, which means if the rulers decide to lock us in their rooms again we need brake out and find each other again before we put the plan into action."

"How are we supposed to find each other again if we keep getting lost?" Ryou asked a little worriedly.

A cunning smirk broke out on the tanned angel's face. "That's where Yugi comes in!"

This time Yugi did lift his face from Ryou's back, Malik's confession shocking the small angel completely. "M-Me?!" He asked with wide surprised eyes.

The blonde confirmed the question by nodding away confidently. "Yami's a lot more leaner with you than Marik and Bakura are with Ryou and I. We're always locked in their rooms but Yami lets you wonder the castle whenever you please. Face it Yugi, you know the castle a lot better than us. We wouldn't have even found Ryou if it weren't for you knowing where Bakura's room was!"

"Yes but-"

"If the ruler's separate us all you need to do pick the lock on Yami's door, sneak out of his room, then find Bakura's and Marik's room's to free me and Ryou." The violet-eyed angel explained simply and making it all sound quite easy. Maybe a little too easy… "Please Yugi, you're the only one who would be able to do this." Malik added honestly.

"…If you're sure." Yugi agreed though he sounded a little reluctant, and if he was truthful the idea of purposely braking out of the ruler's room, especially when he knew Yami would only put him in there for his own safety, really didn't appeal to him.

Malik gave his friend a grateful smile. "Thank you Yugi."

"Malik." Ryou cut in not liking the idea anymore than Yugi. Though he knew Malik would never intentionally put either one of them in danger, he still feared for the smaller angel's safety, after all if Yami was anything like his youngest brother and Yugi was to get caught… "Yugi doesn't even know how to pick a lock."

Malik suddenly pulled a paperclip out from nowhere, bending it straight in less than a second and smirking proudly. "Good friends share their knowledge."

-------End Small Flashback-------

Trust?… It was like adding salt to the wound.

"Yes, and I'm very grateful for it." No he wasn't… "I guess I'm just a little homesick." The lie was believable at least.

"I'm sorry Yugi I never thought of that, I've been enjoying having you to myself too much… but I would never stop you from going to the human world to visit your family. You can go see them whenever you wish." The ruler's tone had turned lighter, no longer sounding so serious and worried and he gave the boy a small loving squeeze. Yugi was about to offer his thanks, but the demon hadn't quite finished. "As long as you promise to come back…"

The request almost caused the angel to burst into tears…

"…I will." The reply was harmless and one that Yami had expected, but in reality it was the most devastating thing Yugi had ever said, and sadly, the first promise he would not be able to keep…

It seemed Yugi was getting better at lying.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their last meal with demons… Lunch went as it usually did. Bakura molested Ryou, Ryou got molested, Malik got angry, Marik tried to calm Malik down, Yugi felt uncomfortable, and Yami tried to forget he was even related to the two causing/adding to the routine chaos. Yet all good things must come to an end however, and their quiet dinner was soon interrupted by Seto requesting for the rulers presence. As Malik had earlier expected the rulers had insisted on taking their slaves to their rooms, they even made a point of walking with the angels there themselves and personally locking the door before going wherever Lord Kaiba needed them to be. The rulers had obviously felt that doing this task themselves was important, but for what reason? Their slaves safety perhaps? Yugi didn't doubt it, after all, what demon wouldn't be worried by a potentially dangerous angel roaming about in their territory? Who knew how that angel would react when they were forced to reveal their identity to their enemy? It wouldn't be pretty that's for sure, and not matter how many times the demons dubbed the angels as 'weak creatures', an appearance of one wasn't to be taken lightly.

And then…that was it. Bakura, Yami and Marik left, and as far as the angel's knew that would be the last time they would ever see them. It would be the end of their problem, but what the angel's didn't know was that it was also going to be the beginning of a far greater hindrance, but then again they had been warned had they not? The day's morning had made subtle hints to their decision, doing its best to convince them out of their plan, but the angels had not listened, not to their hearts, or even the 'higher power' that had been fretting over them. Fate was not willing to release its pawns, and in the end pawns could only do what their master wanted…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are we close Yugi?"

"I think so… It should be at the end of this corridor."

"But didn't we go left from here to find Bakura's room yesterday?"

"…No… If we go left from here we'll end up going back to Lord Yami's room."

"I don't know how you can remember all this. Every hallway looks the same to me."

It had actually been quite easy, no where near as difficult as Yugi had previously thought. He would admit that picking the lock to Yami's door had caused a few problems, but he had got it done in the end, and considering that he'd only been shown how to do the task yesterday, it really was worth some sort of congratulations. Malik had done exactly that as soon as Yugi reached Marik's room, though the small angel was still feeling slightly uneasy at what they were doing so the congratulations had offered little comfort. Now the only thing left to do was collect Ryou from Bakura's room, which was where the two angels were headed right now. They had passed very few guards, one or two at the most, but considering the size of the castle it really was amazing that they hadn't spotted more. It seems what Malik had earlier said about most of the guards being ordered to go where the humans were being tested had been true. It just made things easier for the three slaves really.

"They do look similar." Yugi replied courteously. "Do you think we should warn Ryou before we open the door? I mean, he might have forgotten, and I don't want to scare him by mistake."

"Nah, he'll remember, and if not… well it could be funny." Even at times as serious as this, Malik's urge to prank people refused to leave him alone. Though the more obvious reason behind this comment was probably an attempt to brighten Yugi's some-what nervous mood. In any case, it was nice to see Malik acting more like him self instead of the angry slave shouting abuse about the rulers whenever he got the chance.

Though Yugi couldn't help but give the typical response. "Malik!"

The tanned-teen merely snickered happily at his friend's concerned outburst. "Relax, it'll take more than us shouting 'boo!' to scare Ryou."

Yugi frowned but nodded, not having a great amount of faith with Malik's statement. It would scare him anyway. "This is it." The shorter friend announced, having stopped his walking and now standing in front of a large wooden door. He then stepped to the side and allowed Malik to start work on the bedroom's lock, since he was obviously much better at lock picking than Yugi.

On the other side of that door a pale teen was waiting patently, his hands set in his lap anxiously, with his legs gently swinging back and forth from the end of his master's bed. When hearing someone beginning to fiddle with the lock outside however, he immediately knew that his waiting was over. Ryou jumped from the bed and quickly made his way over to the door, the sound of a clicking noise greeting him as he stepped in front of his only exit. The door swung open before Ryou was able to reach the knob, and in an instant his rescuers were reviled.

…Well, sort of anyway…

The snowy-haired angel blinked, staring at the empty doorway, not quite understanding what was happening or the reason to why there was an absence of the two people he was expecting. Ryou cautiously stepped forward, about to poke his head out into the hallway thinking that his fellow escapees were waiting for him out in the corridor for some reason. "Where are you gu--?"

"Hi Ryou!"

Ryou yelped, tumbling backwards and tripping over his own two feet at hearing his name being called from supposedly nowhere. The poor boy would have surely hit the floor if he wasn't suddenly grabbed by the wrist, someone thankfully yanking him forwards onto his feet again. The action was soon followed by playful laughter… a very familiar playful laughter…

And suddenly everything made sense again…

"You could have reminded me that you'd both be invisible." Ryou muttered embarrassingly with a slight blush tainting his cheeks.

"Sorry Ryou…" Yugi's saddened voice caught the visible angel's attention, noticing the clear signs of concern laced amongst the almost guilty sounding words. "Did we scare you?"

Ryou shook his head lightly. "Just startled me a little." The laughter still continued… "Nice to see… well hear, that you're in a good mood today Malik." Ryou stated with a small smile. Regardless of his embarrassment, he truly meant it.

The grip around Ryou's wrist loosened, Malik's laughter began to die down, and though Ryou couldn't see it, a large grin was formed on his friend's face. "Hey, if there's ever a day that I'm going to be happy in Hell, it's going to be on the same day that I get out!" A bottle was pushed into Ryou's hand's. "Now it's your turn to disappear."

Ryou frowned and held up the object in his hands. "Why are the potion bottles invisible?"

"We splashed some of that disappearing liquid on the outside of the potions containers." Ryou gave a suspicious look to where he guessed Malik was standing. The tanned-teen caught the look instantly. "What do you expect us to do? If we carry the bottles around without doing anything then people will see them, it'll look like they're floating in thin air… the demons might find that just a **little** suspicious." The blonde finished with a hint of sarcasm.

"I wasn't thinking of that." Ryou spoke up again to clarify. "I was just wondering how you knew which bottle contained what when you can't read the label."

….There was a slight pause.

"No problem!" Malik quickly defended, though maybe not quite quick enough. "I placed the potions into my boots in a certain order, so all I got to do is feel around for the right one before I take it out."

Both Yugi and Ryou glared at the other accusingly.

"…What?… I did I swear!…Stop looking at me like that! Come on, just take the potion Ryou. If you drink it it's more effective."

Ryou sighed, eyes travelling heavenwards in a silent prayer that the potion he was about to take wouldn't kill him. He then tilted his head back and brought the bottle to his lips.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Needless to say Ryou didn't die, it seemed that someone had listened to that hast prayer and took pity on him. That or Malik had actually been telling the truth… luck seemed to have a better probability though. Once leaving Bakura's room however, Ryou had again pointed out another obvious, and very worrying, problem. Turning invisible did not mean that Ryou was also able to see the other two invisible friends. How were they supposed to stick together if they weren't able to tell where each other was? But it looked as though Malik had the answers to everything, since as soon as Ryou announced his worry aloud Malik had counted the question by giving his own 'ingenious' reply. Both Yugi and Malik had discovered that if you were to put a small bit of effort into searching for a fellow angel's aura, you would be able to make out a natural faint glow outlining that angel's body. It was true to say that trying to sense a demon's aura would be far too difficult for the three slave's to accomplish. Searching for an angel's aura though, especially when the other angel was within a close proximity, was far more easier. They were just thankful that demons weren't able to posses that same ability, otherwise… well Yugi, Ryou, and Malik probably wouldn't have even made it this far.

From there on the plan was simple; find an exit and get out. How hard could that be when not one demon was capable of seeing them? Hell, all they needed to do was find an open window and they could literally 'fly away home'! At least… that's what they thought anyway…

"This one won't budge either!"

Currently the angel's were having a problem in finding an exit, even the windows were being difficult. For some reason they just wouldn't open. Ok, so a few stiff windows were to be expected, but not fifteen in a row! No matter how hard they tried to push one open the window would refuse to move!

"It's possible that the rulers did something to stop people from getting out… like casting some sort of spell to keep everyone in the castle… They probably took extra precautions to make sure the angel couldn't escape when they found it."

"I bet we have Kaiba to thank for that." Malik commented with a huff, giving up on the window he was trying to open and turning back to face Yugi and Ryou. "Like gathering all the guards wasn't enough…"

Ryou was glancing over Malik's shoulder with a deep frown set on his face, and then walked past the tanned-teen to look out of the window Malik was previously trying to open. Malik, puzzled to what Ryou found so interesting outside turned back round again to join his friend's side. Yugi, also bewildered to what was happening, soon followed and stepped between the two angels to see what was going on.

A mile long line of humans were being queued together in single file. Each one had both their feet and hands chained together, and though the chain clasped between their ankles looked to be slightly looser than the one's attached on their wrists, it was obvious that the humans were finding it incredibly difficult to walk, most of them tripping, and in some cases falling, after shuffling forwards in time with the slow-moving line. Demons with armour, clearly guards, were spaced apart on either side of the slave-line, some with swords, knifes, and other unnecessary weapons hanging from their belts. Mute cries could be heard as the angels stared in horror through that seemingly soundproof glass, men and women, children and elders, all being shoved forwards in dirty rags…

"It's horrible."

Malik stayed silent, Yugi's statement going unheard as he stared unblinkingly at the outside world. Yes, it was horrible, heartbreakingly so, and it was obvious that 'Hell' truly did live up to its name. However, Malik wasn't hanging over the scene being played out in front of him, he couldn't, the last time he and his friends stopped to look out a window during their last escape attempt, they got caught. He wasn't going to let that happen again. So why hadn't he already moved Ryou and Yugi along? Well that was because the blonde had realised something vital.

"Where do you think the front of the line is?"

Ryou's brows furrowed in confusion at the relevance of the rather strange question, but he answered nevertheless. "It looks like the humans are being taken somewhere close to the front of the castle… Why do you ask?"

The violet-eyed boy smirked and pressed himself closer to the glass. "Where people are able to get in, people are also able to get out."

Ryou blinked. "What?"

"I just found our exit." Malik stated, pulling himself away from the window and turning back to his friends to give a better explanation. "The castle's practically been put in lock-down mode, but if we can get to the place where the humans are being let in then we can get out the same way. We just have to walk out the door, it's as easy as that!" Malik then locked eyes with Yugi. "Do you know how to get us to the front of the castle Yugi?"

The smaller boy shook his head. "I-I haven't ventured that far before." Little Yugi replied, still a little shaken with the chaos outside. "I don't even know where the main entrance to the castle is, and Marik and Bakura put us to sleep when they first brought us here so…" The angel trailed off, but Malik understood that Yugi genuinely didn't have a clue.

"Well… no problem." Malik replied un-wavered. "We know the general direction at least." He then gave another quick glace to the humans lined up outside before beginning to walk down the corridor to his right. "Come on you two! I don't know exactly how long this potion works, so I don't want to waste time!"

Yugi and Ryou gave each other a quick glance. "He doesn't know how long this invisible potion-?!"

"It's better not to think about it Yugi." Ryou advised, cutting off Yugi's panicked concern before he began to worry again, though if Ryou was honest then he'd admit that he was just as concerned as Yugi about what Malik had said, but he would never deny his friends comfort when they needed it, and so he gave Yugi a strong smile. "Come on, we better go catch up."

Yugi frowned but nodded, quickly following behind the snowy-haired angel and catching up to walk at Malik's side, both Yugi's and Ryou's steps falling in time with the tanned angel's own. For a small while nothing was said and the three merely travelled in silence, turning corners here and there to make sure they were going roughly the right way. However, it wasn't long until the tension this silence brought began to make Yugi feel uncomfortable again.

"Where do you think the ruler's are right now?" The small slave asked quietly, hoping that a little conversation would make him feel a little better.

"Probably in some cold, dark, dungeon-like room, waiting for the first victim to be brought to them for testing." Malik replied gruffly, the obvious disgust heard clearly in his voice.

"…Do you think that potion they have to take will hurt them?" Yugi asked again, voice still small and quiet, hoping beyond all hope that Yami wouldn't force the humans to go through something that would cause them severe harm.

"Mokuba said the potion wouldn't hurt." Ryou added.

"Not that the rulers would care either way." Malik finished in a very pessimistic tone. "I bet-"

"-But its not as though that really matters right now." Ryou hastily cut in, sensing Malik's annoyed/angry mood fighting to return again and wanting to change the subject quickly. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Yugi was just about to speak up again when he heard something coming up from behind him. He could hear people talking, soft mumbling becoming clearer and louder as whoever it was got closer. The three prisoner's halted in their tracks. "Can you guys hear that?"

Ryou nodded, eyes wide with panic. "Someone's coming!"

The third slave tensed, whipping his head from side to side in hopes of finding somewhere where the three of them could hide, his heart pounding rapidly as the sound of foreign footsteps quickly continued to approach. "There's nowhere to-!" But then a thought dawned on him and realisation gave him a sharp slap across the face. Duh, invisible remember? However, just because people couldn't see them, it didn't mean that people wouldn't be able to feel them. Yeah, that's just what they needed, someone crashing into them from behind and probably falling on top of them. That will make everything _**so**_ much better. The hallways had began to turn narrow awhile back though, the angels couldn't simply step to the side to let the others pass. There was another option though, and that was to duck into another hallway, hoping that the strangers fallowing them wouldn't take the same one once they reached it.

Malik grabbed both Yugi's and Ryou's hands and tugged them forwards. They couldn't go backwards so the only other option was to carry on going straight. Further down on the right was a corridor that split off from the one they were headed down, and the blonde companion was quick to take it. The angels all watched nervously, holding their breaths in hopes that, whoever it was, would just carry on taking the same hallway they had abandoned, and simply walk past the one they were seeking refuge in now.

Six figures were soon revealed, all dressed in long, very plain looking, grey robes. They were elderly, and clearly male, the thin grey hair on their scalp and face not going unnoticed from under their hoods. They seemed to be pretty angry too, if their conversation was anything to go by that is…

"How dare those- those _**ingrates**_tell us our presence is not needed! We should not have to sneak in! It's infuriating!"

"You should watch your temper! The rulers obviously don't trust us, and if you keep objecting to every little thing they do then they will get rid of the council! All of **his** planning will have gone to waste if that happens!"

Not that the angels were really listening, they were paying more attention to the fact that the six hadn't done what they hoped. They didn't walk past. Luck just didn't seem to be on their side today…

"They're coming this way!" Yugi whispered in panic, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"I know!" Malik hissed in reply. The taller angel honestly didn't know what to do, and that fact both worried and annoyed him at the same time.

And so the angels had no choice, they were forced to move in the same direction the robed figures were, each step they took meaning the angels had to take another step back while not having a clue as to where they were headed. The slave's hearts were racing. What if they ended up closed into a room with these guys? How would they be able to get out again without anyone noticing? They were doomed and they knew it. Malik could see what was going to happen and he started to lose his nerve, rational thoughts beginning to slip from is mind and breath starting to quicken. It was enough to say he resembled a wild animal slowly being cornered, getting ready to lash out at any moment. In fact, that assumption wasn't far from the truth. Malik was getting desperate, if he was forced to charge through these people, fight, or if needs be knock each and everyone of these six figures unconscious, then he would do it. Even if he was grabbed, slammed and pinned against the wall in his attempt to clear the path for their freedom, it would at least give Ryou and Yugi a good chance of running past and out of the hallway during the ruckus, and in the end Malik knew that giving his friends that chance to be safe and free again, was well worth his sacrifice. Ryou and Yugi were all he had. They were all that mattered.

The courageous angel had made up his mind. Narrowing his eyes and tensing his muscles, Malik got ready to spring forwards into a charge, and then finally, after giving a quick look to a confused Ryou and Yugi, he dashed--

"Right on time I see!"

Hearing the voice of yet another figured obstacle, Malik halted mid-step in his not yet started sprint, almost falling flat on his face while doing so, and then turned round to see the source of the noise coming from behind him after realising the other six in front of them had also stopped their walking.

All three angels had turned in surprise to see who had been standing behind them. It had been naïve of them really to not keep watch on what was going on behind them, notice who they were approaching, or seeing who may have been sneaking towards them, but perhaps Yugi was the one who was startled the most… but that was because Yugi actually **recognised** the person standing there.

A short demon with scraggy long black hair, and light purple bangs plastered to his forehead by a red woolly hat, was leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway, arms crossed. Beside him was an oak panelled door, apparently the only door in this entire passage otherwise it would have been considered a dead-end, that was closed or locked.

Wasn't that the same demon that had lead him to the bathing rooms not too long ago?

"We could not be late for this." One of the six replied in a deep, icy voice.

The lone demon smirked. "Yeah? Well whatever. I did what you told me, I've guarded this door instead of joining the other servants in their duties. No one has gotten through, and both the rulers and the guards are starting to go through today's events below. You six will be up here alone."

"Good." Was the simple jaded, and rather uninterested, reply from the same male who had answered earlier. "Now open the door."

"I want my payment first. These favours don't come free you know, not even for you."

There was a short growl and a rustling of fabric before one of the cloaked males pulled out a small brown sac, barely big enough to fit in a person's palm. The sac was thrown carelessly to the servant, narrowly missing Ryou's head but quickly ducking just in time. The demon with the woolly hat caught it eagerly, his eyes lighting up with greed as he heard the jingle of coins once landing in his hands. He then slipped the bag into his pocket with a large smirk and opened the door. "Pleasure doing business with you all!"

The rather ecstatic comment was only met by gruff silence, the mysterious six now not seeing any further reason to communicate with the demon they used as a mere tool, and so promptly ignored him as they moved towards the door being held open for them.

Before the angels knew it, they were being forced back again, the six's impatience to make their way inside obvious in their rushed strides. Malik, Yugi, and Ryou were having trouble in keeping up, scrambling to get inside before they were practically run over as they were herded through the door, quickly followed by the one's who had unknowingly herded them in there… and then the door slammed closed.

The first thing the angels recognised was that the room they had been pushed into wasn't exactly a 'room', it was instead similar to a balcony. There was only one wall and that was the one that held up the door behind them, the rest was some type of golden coloured railing to keep its occupants boxed in. There were also some seats but the six demons that had followed them in paid little mind to that comfort, they instead stayed close to the door cautiously, as though ready to leave if their presence was noticed. A rich red carpet was laid on the floor, and a few drapes were seen hanging down from the balcony's sides. Overall, it looked something similar to a private box in a grand theatre.

"Now where are we?!" Malik growled in a harsh whisper, remembering to keep his voice low in case of the disguised demons overhearing, but clearly annoyed with their situation.

Curious, though just as confused to their whereabouts as Yugi and Malik, Ryou made his way over to the railing and peaked over the edge.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

Below was what looked to be fifty guards, all armed and wearing heavy looking armour. They were dotted around everywhere, blocking the main doors and lined along the walls surrounding the entire room, which in this case was a humongous hall laid down with dark wooden floorboards. Placed directly in the centre of that floor was a long narrow, pitch black, carpet, starting from the overly large double doors of the main entrance to the very end of the hall where three silver thrones stood, slightly elevated on a platform so they rose up higher than they would on the floor. It was the person sat in the far right thrown, the person who Ryou had faintly hoped to never see again, that flooded the sweet angel's heart with unease and slight fear. Bakura was lounging sideways on his grand chair, his right leg draped over the armrest and his elbow resting on the left to hold his head up, his other leg set firmly on the floor. In his free hand was one of his daggers, the end of the sharp blade being balanced perfectly on his finger tip before being thrown lightly into the air and caught again.

Ryou could see the strain of held in excitement on Bakura's face, though to others it could have been mistaken for boredom, the dagger merely being something for the demon to entertain himself with. They were wrong.

To Bakura's left was Yami. Unlike Bakura, his position wasn't so carefree. The ruler sat up straight in his thrown, his arms placed on either armrest and his hands resting lax, his whole persona looking calm, maybe even a little cold. His crimson eyes stared out across the room, the gaze deadly serious. The demon seemed to be stuck in thought, perhaps contemplating with the situation being carried out? Or more likely, what the situation would reveal?

Beside Yami, Marik sat with a small grin on his face, one both happy and devious at the same time. His right leg was bent at the knee, the heel of his foot perched on the very edge of his seat, and his arms crossed over to overlap at the elbows, resting on top of that single kneecap. The other foot was planted on the ground. His eyes held a crazed look to them, and he seemed to be rocking ever-so-slightly backwards and forwards. It didn't seem like he could sit still. Like Bakura, excitement seemed evident in Marik's mind as well.

"We shouldn't be here." The whispered fact caused Ryou to jump slightly, turning his head to the side to see Malik's outlined form beside him. "They're obviously testing the humans here but there's nothing we can do about it. This is where the humans are being led to, **not** where they're getting in from. It's pointless for us to be here."

Ryou nodded. "But how are we suppose to leave without those six noticing?" The chocolate-eyed boy pointed over his shoulder to the demons near their exit.

Malik frowned, turning away completely from the scene below to give Ryou his full attention, regardless of whether he could see him or not. "At this point… I don't think it really matters. It seems to me that those six demons aren't suppose to be here anyway, if they were then they would have joined the rulers and everyone else down stairs, so if they do realise that something's not right then they can't really go to Marik, Bakura, and Yami without getting in trouble for being up here in the first place." Malik then gave a quick glance to the said problems still hovering around the door, though not exactly blocking it, their own gaze looking to be firmly fixed on the happenings over the railing. "All their attention is on those three bastards running this stupid show anyway, I doubt they'll notice the door mysteriously opening and closing by itself."

Ryou realised what Malik was saying was risky, but what have they done so far that wasn't? Besides, they didn't have much choice. The white-haired teen was just about to agree again, when a certain voice managed shock him to the point where he could neither nod or speak… and the reaction wasn't just singled out on Ryou either.

"Ya stupid demons! **YA ALL COWARDS! **If I could get my hands an' feet free, I'd be beating ya both unconscious!"

There was **no way **that could be who they thought it was. It was _impossible_!

"Ryou, Malik, look!" But if the panic hindering Yugi's voice was anything to go by, then the impossible was indeed possible.

The two angels immediately turned their attention to back over the balcony.

The crimsoned-eyed ruler quirked an eyebrow as he watched the boy in shackles and chains struggle to brake free from the two guards gripping his forearms to keep him under control. "This is the boy you found in Hell's wasteland Seto?" Yami inquired.

Lord Kaiba stepped out from the sidelines and soon appeared standing by Yami's side of the thrown. "Yes." The reply came easy enough, though for some reason it did hold a slight edge to it.

There was a slight pause in the conversation where the guards holding the boy looked to Yami for some sort of confirmation. They received it when Yami gave a curt nod of his head. In an instance the two guards had thrown Jounochi to his knees, one of them grabbing the blonde by his hair and tugging it roughly to snap his head back. The other demon pulled out a small bottle filled with some strange golden coloured water and attempted to press it against the uncooperative teen's lips. Jounochi though was having none of it and fiercely shook his head left and right, keeping his mouth firmly closed.

"Seems suspicious to me." Bakura continued from where the conversation left off, a smirk on his face and a cruel sense of sadistic hope laced within his words.

"Hm!" Marik murmured a small noise in his agreement. "Finding a human here with no master is unheard of!"

"What did you say his name was?" Yami asked with slight interest.

Seto almost didn't catch the words at all, his mind was to wrapped up with seeing the honey-eyed male struggling with all his might to get the guards hands off him, fighting with every ounce of strength he had to push himself far enough away from the bottle, which as far as the boy knew could be poison, until he was out of reach. The sight did something to the demon, and for some reason he found that he couldn't watch it any more, and so he turned his head to the side so it was no longer in his line of vision, blocking out the noise of the boy's fast angry panting through his nose as he fought a fruitless battle.

"I don't know his-" But then it came to him in a sudden rush.

"_What is this? Whack Jou over the head week?!…" _

The potion master closed his eyes, and replied in a cold, even voice. "His name is Jou."

The blonde froze momentarily when hearing his name leaving the tall brunette's mouth. Anger gained a tight grip on his heart as his gaze locked onto the demon that wasn't even looking at him, giving Jounochi the impression of disgust. That snobby bastard! That prick didn't have the right to call him by that name! "That's Katsuya to you, ya filthy-- !" However, as soon as Katsuya began voicing his tantrum it had given the guard with the bottle the opportunity he had been waiting for and he quickly shoved the bottle's opening into his mouth, forcing the liquid down the other's throat.

The three onlookers from above were horror stuck, watching as their friend chocked and tried to push the guards away with little success.

"W-What's Katsuya doing here?!" Rarely did Malik stutter, but under the circumstances it was surprising that he could find his voice at all.

Little Yugi shook his head harshly, his eyes full of awaiting tears and his voice hysteric with panic. "We h-have to do s-something!" The poor boy's voice was straining to hold back uncontrollable sobs, it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help it. "When h-he drinks the potion--

"It won't work!" The tanned angel suddenly cut in, halting Yugi's worried crying. "It won't! Kaiba wouldn't have been able to test it on a real angel, so how can he be so sure it works? The potion probably doesn't even do anything! **It won't work**!" But if Malik was so sure the potion wouldn't reveal their wings, then why did he insist on initiating their escape today? "It won't work! **It won't**!" Lies. It was all lies.

"But what if it does?!" The smaller angel carried on, almost wailing. "T-T-They'll…" Yugi hastily wiped his eyes with his hands. "They'll hurt him!"

Ryou had stayed silent, watching his forsaken friend with sorrowful eyes and a slowly braking heart, until a familiar dark chuckle forced his attention away and his eyes snapped back to his master. The dagger, once being thrown playfully, was now clutched in the demon's hand securely. The ruler's long black tail was swaying lightly in anticipation, and his smirk had grown. Those brown, rouge tinted eyes were swirling with a most disturbing desire. The desire for blood. No, Yugi was wrong. They were not going to hurt him.

"They're going to kill him…"

As soon as the whisper left Ryou's lips an exhausted cry erupted from Jounochi's mouth, echoing painfully throughout the entire hall. A deep 'whoosh' noise followed as two large, feathery white wings, sprouted from his back and stretched up towards the heavens as the boy collapsed forwards onto his hands.

And then the painful cry died in Jounochi's throat, and all that was left was deafening silence.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This chapter is _insanely_ long for me. Seriously. Yet I write so much and it doesn't even get me half as far as I wanted it to! -sigh- The fact that this story is moving so slowly is even annoying me now, but… I still don't want to rush it. Ugh! Anyway, exams are over and done with so I'll try and get back on track with updates.

…Poor Jou… _again_.

Thank you to everyone who is reviewing! Honestly, I love you all! Without you guys I wouldn't bother continuing!

…Review and tell me what you think?

**Boogermeister**: Thank you!

**DarthAnimus**: I know, Seto is so smart but he also be so dumb sometimes lol. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I'm happy to know you think of my story so highly! I'll try to keep it up, though I'm afraid I may not be quite done with the angsty undertones yet…

**Freak0592**: Thank you! Sorry to keep you waiting though. Jou should be Seto's slave? Hm, maybe…You never know what's going to happen -winks- I agree, poor Yugi… someone should really explain this angel and demon thing to him…

**Shamise**: You're welcome!

**Rogue1979**: Malik's not a very calm guy when it comes to someone hurting Ryou or Yugi. Meh, it's kinda cute. Thanks for the review!

**Dark'nLightAngel**: Yep! Though I'm not entirely sure Jou's happy about how things ended up. Sorry for the long wait!

**Mei1105**: Hopefully this chapter answered your question, and thank you for wishing me luck on my exams!

**Muffin234**: Ack, I'm sorry for making you wait so long again, though I'm afraid it couldn't be helped -sigh- They haven't exactly escaped yet, but there…um…half way there?

**Adhiana**: You are completely right. Hopefully Yugi will realise that soon though. Thanks for reviewing!

**bakura240**: Right about now? Lol Thanks for the review!

**Andrea**: I managed to put in more BakuraxRyou fluff this time so I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for wishing me good luck!

**Sliferservant**: Glad to know you're enjoying the fic, and thank you for reviewing so many chapters Sliferservant! I also appreciate the email messaging! Hope we get to talk again sometime!


	16. Chapter 16

-1Chapter 16

The whole room had broke out into an eerie silence and tension was high. All sets of eyes were fixed upon the human-- no, **angel **that was bent over on his hands and knees. The boy was panting harshly, his shoulders moving up and down heavily as he took in big gulps of air. His face was hidden behind blonde shaggy hair as his head was lowered, unable to lift it out of pure exhaustion. The position Jounouchi was in was a mockery to angels everywhere.

It looked like he was willingly bowing down to the rulers of Hell.

It couldn't be helped though, Jounouchi barely had enough strength to keep himself from collapsing completely onto the floor. Sheer determination of will had forced the exposed teen from passing out. He wouldn't let himself fall unconscious again. Even if he couldn't think clearly, even… even though he just felt so tiered… so weak. He was aware of all stares on him, all the demons surrounding him with shocked, murderous faces, but there was nothing he could do about it. Only one thought was able to get through to him at this time, the time where one waited for the guillotine to fall, and it was not death, nor the fear of torture for revealing his identity.

It was the pure devastation of realising he failed.

Ryou… Yugi… Malik… They were all probably dead now. He had wasted too much time. It was unforgivable.

And then Jounouchi promptly let his wings go slack, letting them sink to the floor in defeat.

A cruel cackling broke through Katsuya's misery.

"Well will you look at that?" Bakura commented through his malicious snickers, his eyes taking in the sight of the broken down angel, or as he liked to call them 'white rats with wings', with excitement and amusement. "Damn Yami!" The white-haired demon suddenly bellowed, swinging the leg hanging off the armrest round to be placed on the floor instead, his posture taking a more interested form. "And here I thought you'd gone off the deep end when you suspected angels getting in here." The approving smirk evidently creped onto the youngest ruler's face as a strong thumb mindlessly stroked down the side of a sharp blade. "For once I'm glad that you proved me wrong…"

Yami rolled his eyes at his brother's _modest_ confession, and, as unusual as it was for the spiky-haired ruler to find anything remotely close to humour in anything that Bakura said, he couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. "I suppose that's the closest I'm going to get to an apology."

A snort from the weapon wilding other was the only answer Yami received, proving his statement to be true.

"What are we going to do with it?" An ecstatic Marik cut in, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. His words were riddled with child-like innocence and wonder, like he was talking about some kind of rare animal. The reaction could almost be considered cute if it wasn't for what Marik said next. "Torture it? Kill it?" A disturbing grin broke out across the sibling's face. "…Eat it?"

Bakura gave a thoughtful expression at his older brother's suggestions. "You know, I don't think I've had angel before…" The demon vaguely wondered if the taste of this angel's blood would be able to delight his taste buds as much as Ryou's had… but after giving the blonde individual another quick look over with his eyes he doubted it. No one could taste as sweet as his slave did, not even an angel, of that he was sure. Still, it could be fun to chop off one of the angel's limbs and test the theory anyway. "Why not all three?"

Yami rolled his eyes again, ignoring his brothers for the time being and focussing his attention on the teen on the floor instead. Questions needed to be asked first, his brothers pleasures could come later. "Katsuya was it?" Yami asked the question decently enough.

Jounouchi said nothing.

Yami frowned at the lack of a response, but continued anyway. "Why were you found in our domain angel?"

No reply.

The ruler's frown deepened but he stayed calm, rephrasing the question and asking again persistently. "What is your reason for being in Hell?"

Again no response.

"Why are you here?"

Silence.

Now, Yami always thought of himself to be a reasonable person, definitely the most sensible when compared to his two brothers, and a relatively calm person who would show respect to others when needed to… but he'd admit the angel was starting to annoy him now, and considering that this insolent person was probably their wannabe-assassin, Yami was finding it hard to keep his temper to a minimum.

"Maybe it needs some encouragement?" Marik suggested again, a strange thrill gleaming in his eyes as he cocked his head to the side, regarding the lanky teen thoughtfully.

"He doesn't need any 'encouragement'." Seto suddenly stated as though it was pure fact, the chill in his voice making Marik's assumption sound ludicrous. However, though Seto sounded like his usual calm self, in actuality, he was suffering a great pain. Why he was suffering though, was a complete mystery to the Lord. It was just… seeing that boy with wings… Why did it hurt so much?… He had known that this was a possibility. He himself had told the rulers of the boy for that exact reason. It was suspicious… and yet… had he really taken that suspicion as seriously as he should? When he explained to the rulers how the boy was found… had he really expected the boy to be an angel?…

Apparently not. It was a stupid thing to make himself blind to.

In reality though, the potion master shouldn't have said anything in reply to Marik's remark, he should have held his tongue, but he knew what '_encouragement_' meant in Marik's terms, and… well… the words just flew from his mouth before Seto could stop them.

"Really?" Bakura asked the lower rack Lord in a slightly curious, but mostly mocking, voice. "Why don't **you **try and make it talk then?"

The potion master gave a tiny bitter scowl, barely noticeable to those who didn't look close enough, and then did exactly as Bakura asked, not because of who Bakura was, but simply because he thought he should give it a shot. It would be in the angel's favour anyway… Not that Seto cared about what happened to the boy of course. The angel would probably end up dead in the end anyway…

Seto gave each of the guards by Jounouchi side a cold stare, and the guards, taking the hint, moved away from the boy on the floor and returned to the sidelines to join the rest of the armed demons. Yami allowed this without question. After all, the angel couldn't even stand at the minute, let alone run off anywhere, and even if he could, where could he go with guards blocking the exits? Not to mention the forty or so guards cornering him from every angle of the room.

"Boy." Seto started stern and clear, demanding the other to show some sign of acknowledgment, yet Jounouchi still didn't move or speak, his gaze seeming to be still fixed on the ground. Regardless, the Lord continued. "You are suspected of attempted murder. Attempted assassination of our rulers to be exact." The angel didn't seem to take any notice, did nothing to show that he even cared about what he was being accused of. It infuriated Kaiba greatly. "Don't you understand? A crime such as this goes beyond the death penalty, not even your fellow angels can come to your aid when trapped here." Why wouldn't the boy talk? Wasn't he even going to try and defend himself? "We all know you can talk, so stop acting like you can't!"

Still nothing

Bakura lifted his hands and began to clap slowly, mockingly. "Well you certainly showed us what you're capable of Seto." The remark was followed by Marik's chuckling/giggling.

Seto, normally capable of keeping a neutral expression of a mask on his face, was truly mad inside and the effects of that anger was beginning to be shown unnaturally on his lips in the form of a sneer, along with the narrowing of cold blue eyes. He refused to be outdone however, and that determination happened to create an idea to pop into the demon's head. "You aren't going to talk? Fine, I guess you really are just a dumb…" The sneer turned into a suppressed smirk. "…**mutt**."

The angel's head snapped up instantly, eyes slightly ablaze, and for a minute he just stared at Kaiba dully, though Seto could tell anger was hidden behind those honey coloured depths. "I don't know what ya talking about. Am no assassin." Then the anger disappeared altogether as he continued in a impassive, and rather detached voice. "But if ya wanna kill me… then just do it."

Seto Kaiba blinked. What was that? The angel didn't mind being killed? Did he want death?… But why?… Maybe the boy really was guilty then… Well, if that was the case then there was nothing he could do for him. He was doomed… Not that Lord Kaiba _wanted_ to do anything for him that is…

It was a shame Lord Kaiba didn't know the truth, that he had such little faith in the angelic teen, but in the end, to Jounouchi, it didn't matter. That horrible pain in Jounouchi's heart almost seemed to want death, wanted it as a punishment for being so helpless, so pitiful, so useless… He just couldn't do anything right could he? All he had to do was go out, get a plant, and then return to Heaven. It wasn't difficult, it was a simple task, but he still managed to mess it up… And now, because he was such a pathetic loser, because he had **failed**, his friends would have to face the consequences… That is, if they hadn't done already… No, in reality he deserved a much worse punishment than death…

"Awww, angels are no fun!" Marik whined disappointedly at their future victim's reply.

"That's because he thinks we're going to kill him quickly." The white-haired demon stated, rising to his feet and moving from his thrown, dagger still happily clutched in his right hand. "This thing isn't going to tell us anything. Marik is right, it needs some encouragement." The explanation fell so easily from his tongue, you wouldn't have guessed the true sadistic meaning behind his words.

On the balcony Ryou was quickly getting to the same level of hysterics as Yugi, but that was because he knew what his master was capable of. You couldn't really blame him for reacting so frenziedly when watching a man so merciless walk over to his friend, especially not with a weapon in his mitts. Not when he _knew_ what the weapon was going to be used for. What Ryou was about to do next was inevitable…

…but Malik saw it coming.

Just as the ivory-skinned teen lurched forwards towards the railing, Malik grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back, causing his friend to fall ungracefully backwards into tanned arms. The clumsy angel was then pulled upwards slightly in order to balance himself properly on his feet, and an arm was wrapped around his middle to restrict any movement. "Don't you dare Ryou." The older teen hissed warningly into the other boy's ear.

Ryou turned to look over his shoulder at Malik with a frown, beginning to struggle. "If we don't do something Bakura's going to _mutilate_ Jou." The white-haired boy hissed back determinedly, starting to twist more violently.

Bakura came to a halt in front of Jounouchi's crouched over form.

Malik brought his other arm up and tightened his grip on the body pressed to his chest. "You try and help him and you'll most likely get killed! Don't be stupid!" The captor tried to reason angrily, starting to find it extremely difficult in keeping his voice toned down and keep to the level of harsh 'whispers'. "We'll go home and send people down here to rescue him."

Ryou felt like someone just slapped him across the face. "He'll be dead by then!"

The young demon's lips curled into a venomous smirk.

"I know you don't like him Malik, but you can't honestly think leaving him here is the right thing to do?!" The prisoner cried out quietly in frustration.

Malik was close to growling. "We don't have a choice! They won't kill him yet!" He tried again. "Please Ryou just calm down."

Jounouchi lifted his head back, staring into the ruler's eyes fearlessly, defiantly.

The angels squabbling skidded to a dreaded halt when they caught the gasp coming from their shorter friend. Yugi turned away from the railing, staring at his friends face-to-face, eye-to-eye. The look Yugi gave them was of desperation and horror, a silent plea through teary amethyst orbs. The message Yugi was trying to show was clear; If they were going to do something then they needed to do it now, before it was too late.

All three pairs of eyes returned to the angel and demon below.

"Heh." The demon let out the beginnings of a short cackle. "Here's a taste of what's to come _angel!_" The eager threat seemed to boom throughout the entire hall.

The blade was raised.

Ryou tensed, his eyes going wide, heart pounding in his ears.

And then it fell.

"**NO!"**

"Ugh--!" Jounouchi had stiffened, turned his face away and clenched his fists to brace himself for the pain once he saw the point of dagger descending downwards… but all he got was a slight sting. Confused, the guard had slowly opened an eye to see what had happened, to gain some clue to as why he was still breathing without coughing up blood or screaming through pain whimpers… He was very surprised to see the ruler frozen in place, face turned and eyes looking elsewhere.

Bakura was gazing up at the balcony hung over the hall. Blood was dripping down his dagger's blade, it being a match to the blood now dripping down Jounouchi's left cheek, the weapon now being held in a lose grip as soon as that defiant scream of 'no' had claimed his ears. The demon's eye's were narrowed suspiciously. Who had dared to voice an argument against **him?** Who dared to take the side of an angel in means of saviour and in turn, **defy** their ruler?! His gaze zeroed in on the six cloaked demons scrambling about on the balcony in shock. Heh, grey hair and wrinkly faces… obviously the council. Had it been one of them to scream out such a foolish order towards him? If so they would have a dear price to pay, not only for the stupid interruption, but for being present in the room when ordered to not come near the entrance hall!

A furious growl rumbled out from Bakura's throat, but before he could roar out threats to the council, or even pull his dagger back to take another stab at the angel's free sample of the soon to be given torture, something collided straight into him at full speed, throwing him sideways to the floor, the blade dropping from his hand and hitting the ground with a haunting 'clinck' of metal.

The entire room broke out in gasps as both demons and fellow rulers watched the youngest brother crash onto the floor with no clear reason for doing so. It seemed insane really, as it looked like Bakura had thrown his body that way on purpose. Nothing and no one was seen pushing the other over with such force.

No one at first glance that is…

Malik didn't understand what just happened. One minute Ryou was being held securely in his arms, then the next minute the white-haired angel had forcibly opened his wings, jostling Malik backwards in the process, jumped onto the railing, and then plummeted downwards at full speed towards Bakura! The sun kissed boy was shocked to the very core, both his arms and hands now shacking, and mouth hanging open in disbelief, as he held onto thin air which _should_ have been Ryou's body. Was he just imagining it, or had Ryou really just done the unthinkable? Had Ryou honestly, despite all that Malik had said before, put himself directly in the middle of a crowd full of murderous demons?! Malik **had** to be hallucinating! Everything was falling apart!

Still slightly shaken and still not quite believing what was happening, the violet-eyed angel turned to look at Yugi, hoping to get some sort of confirmation as to what he just saw. "Yugi, did what--"

…WHERE THE HELL WAS YUGI?!

Bakura, now on his back, was confused for a moment as to why he was on the floor, but after realising that something had knocked him down, rage seemed to be the immediate reaction. Furiously Bakura pushed himself up from the floor, the weight on his chest hurriedly moving off and away from him with, what sounded like, a small squeak of surprise, or was it fear? Regardless, the noise had made him come to the quick conclusion that whatever pushed him over was a person. Once Bakura was back on his feet however, he was _extremely_ frustrated that he couldn't see the thing that had knocked him down. He had half expected whatever it was to be grovelling at his feet, begging apologies to him for its stupidity. That, or simply readying itself for one hell of a beating. There was no one there however. Snarling heatedly, the demon sharply turned his head to look behind him, a second dagger miraculously appearing in his hand, more than willing to attack or defend himself if necessary, but again his eyes, now set into a cold glare, met no one.

Immediately Bakura struck his gaze on his two brothers. "Where is it?!" He demanded venomously, knuckles turning white as his grip on the dagger's handle increased.

"Where's what Bakura?" Yami asked in a calm tone of voice, looking at his brother oddly for his strange behaviour and random acts of… erm… self harm?

"THE THING THAT KNOCKED ME OVER!" The youngest ruler yelled back in clear rage, expecting them to just _know_ what he was talking about. Really though, wasn't it obvious?

Marik blinked obliviously. "You mean you didn't push yourself over on purpose?" The worrying thing was that Marik actually meant that seriously…

Seething at the comment, the white-haired male now locked his gaze on the purple-eyed sibling. "Of course I didn't you thick-headed, dumb piece of-" However Bakura's hissed out insults came to a halt when his ears, just now, picked up on the sound of heavy breathing.

Ryou at this moment was slowly backing away from his master, not daring to stand too close to him after what he just did. You couldn't really blame him though. The demon was **mad**. Bakura may even try to swipe his dagger through the air at random in hopes of hitting the invisible target that assaulted him… Once he figures out that the target _**is**_invisible that is… Ryou was preying that he wouldn't. Unfortunately though, Ryou was paying so much attention in keeping his footsteps silent, that he failed to notice his violent panting. It was uncertain if the angel was breathing so harshly due to his panic, or due to wind being knocked out of him a little when Bakura stood and made Ryou tumble off of him. The fact was however that Ryou's breathing was way too loud. Ryou only realised this after Bakura suddenly whipped his head round and stared straight at him.

Ryou quickly put his hand over his mouth and tried to breath more evenly, but it was too late.

The ruler already knew he was there.

"There's more of them…" A frightening gleam appeared in the in the sadistic demon's eyes.

Unbeknownst to the demons, while they were distracted with Ryou, Yugi had taken the opportunity to sneak up beside Jounouchi and begin working on the lock attached to his chains. It seemed that those lock picking lessons Malik put him through were really paying off for him in the end.

"More angels!?" Marik asked with excitement.

"How many more?" Yami questioned seriously. It was at times such as these that Yami chose to trust his youngest brother's judgment. Bakura never made speculations when it came to his victims.

The tanned ruler jumped from his seat, grabbing the heavy sword that was leaning against the side of his thrown and putting on a crazed grin. "I get to play with the other angel if there's more than one!"

The smallest angle couldn't help it. When Yugi heard that less than innocent confession yelled so excitedly from Lord Marik's lips, a flood of dread and anxiety shocked his system, startling him horribly and causing him to drop the lock that he had raised slightly from the floor. The noise that that heavy lock caused when colliding with the ground was deafening.

Marik's eyes locked onto Yugi.

"Two by the sounds of it." Bakura replied with a sly smirk, gaze having yet to have shifted from Ryou's form.

Both Bakura and Marik chose that moment to stalk closer to their prey

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" The blonde demon called happily, as though this was nothing more than a harmless game of hide and seek.

Jounouchi, who was sat their looking ever increasingly wary, didn't have a clue to what was going on.

But even if he did… what could he really do?…

Malik began hyperventilating, his eyes darting between Ryou and Yugi madly. He had to do something and he had to do it fast! The question was, what? If he went to save Ryou, would that mean he wouldn't then be able to reach Yugi in time? If he went to save Yugi, would he be too late to save Ryou?

…Was it even possible to save both?…

The eldest ruler rolled his eyes at his brothers antics. "This is ridiculous…" He mumbled tiredly. "Seto?" Yami questioned the Lord sharply, immediately getting the potion master's attention.

"Hm?" Seto murmured curiously in answer, focusing his cold eyes onto the one sat beside him and away from the show being played out in front of him.

"Can't you do something?"

Those blue eyes once again shifted back onto their original target. "Of course."

A small breeze began to circle low around the tall brunette's feet, shimmering slightly with the illusion of deep red glitter. In an instant the tiny whirlpool of wind split itself into two and gained speed. Both Marik and Bakura paused their careful stalking when said magic whizzed past them in a fiery blur, only stopping when they caught themselves on anchors that no demon could see.

"It's most likely some kind of potion." Lord Kaiba explained simply, watching his magic dance around the two empty spaces that were undoubtedly concealing their victims. "It won't take long."

Yami leaned forward in his thrown slightly, eyes coincidently fixed on the invisible being closest to the angel. It was quite torturous really, watching their enemy being slowly revealed… forced to just sit there and wait to see what kind of danger it could bring…

Bakura gave a crooked smile, eyes watching in anticipation as Seto's magic painted in the flesh and bone of a person, starting from the bottom and gradually working its way up. He took in the sight of black, but white laced sleek boots stopping just beneath a pale knee. His eyes zeroed in on the tight-fitting leather shorts, again black, but with a simple white belt. He even found himself drooling slightly when that flat ivory stomach was revealed, flawless and beautiful without a single scar or mark. He licked his lips when that skin-tight leather tank top came into view, trimmed gorgeously with whitish silver.

Fuck. This angel was going to be hot! Since when could angels wear those kind of clothes? Ryou would look so _good _in them though. He _definitely_ needed to get someone to make something like that for his little slave--

Bakura suddenly stopped drooling.

Wait a minute… Didn't he already get something like that for Ryou?… Now that he thought about it, those boots did look a lot like the ones he bough for his human yesterday…

The very tips of snow-silken hair began to appear on slowly forming shoulders, and the demon's eyes widened sharply.

That wasn't…? No… No it couldn't be! There was just no fucking way!

Yami's loose grip on the armrests suddenly went unbelievably tense. The ruler had just now noticed that the angel he was looking at was turning out to be a little shorter than he had expected. In fact he only knew of one boy that size, and, from when Yami had last seen him this morning, that boy just so happened to be wearing the same upside-down cross choker that this angel was wearing…

The same boy he had admitted to himself for loving a little less than a week ago…

It was at that moment that Yami almost considered telling Seto to stop his spell. Just the mere thought of seeing his beloved human standing there, telling him what a fool he was for trusting, not a human, but an _angel _so easily… for falling in love so easily… He didn't know if he would be able to bare it.

And perhaps he would have told the potion master to reverse his magic for that one selfish reason… if it weren't already too late.

The small whirlwinds of red slowed and evaporated into the air. There Yugi and Ryou stood, terrified, shaken, but above all else…

…with _wings_.

"No…" Bakura whispered in the most softest voice that no one had ever thought the demon was capable of. "Ryou…?" He questioned, as though he needed some kind of confirmation that the angel stood in front of him had really been his tender slave all along.

Ryou lowered his head quickly, too scared, and for some reason, too upset, to look his Master in the eye. "M-Master Bakura…" He replied in a weak voice.

As soon as Yami saw those two stunning amethyst eyes, that spiky tri-coloured hair, he had immediately leaned forwards and dropped his face into his hands. He felt like crying right there, the grief too strong.

"L-Lord Y-Yami…?" The small angel spoke up desperately, wings quivering and heart broken when the demon didn't even so much as lift his head. Was the ruler so disgusted that he couldn't even look at him?

Tears began making their way down Yugi's cheeks.

"You…" The softness once evident in Bakura's voice suddenly disappeared completely, and his eyes turned hard and deadly. "You fucking bitch!" He roared furiously at the frail white-haired teen, tail swinging wildly, claws growing, and horns appearing in blind anger. "You fucking god-damned SLUT! HOW FUCKING LONG DID YOU THINK YOU COULD KEEP THIS FROM ME?!" He yelled so loudly and in such a fierce tone that even the guards took a step back in fear.

"We didn't plan on any of you fuckers actually finding out."

A crude voice replied to Bakura's question before Ryou could even open his mouth, a voice that Marik fully adored and recognised instantly.

"Malik-pretty?" The blonde demon called curiously, eyes darting around the room frantically.

"Lord Yami!"

A guard suddenly shouted out the eldest ruler's name in a panic, and all eyes snapped towards the thrones.

No one, not even Ryou and Yugi, expected to see what they saw.

Lord Yami sat stiffly, eyes wide and confused with his hands gripping the armrests painfully tight. His head was pulled back at an awkward angle, throat exposed. A good portion of Seto's sequin-like magic was whizzing around his seat, making a show of exposing a player that had been missing from this little façade, of whom the rulers had foolishly deemed 'unaccounted for'. Bronze skin was the first feature that gave evidence of an identity, soon followed by low-cut shorts, a revealing pink top, shoulder-length golden hair, and then finally, harsh violet eyes. Malik stood unfazed behind the thrown, one hand fisted in Yami's hair to keep his head back, the other hand snaked around his shoulders…

…holding Bakura's forgotten dagger to his neck.

The wings that had been folded against Malik's back opened, and Lord Kaiba, who had still been standing within a close proximity of Yami's chair, was sent flying to the floor and off the levitated platform. Furious, Seto immediately rose to his feet again, opened his mouth and-

"Don't even think about it Kaiba." Malik glared at the lower ranked Lord, pressing the blade of the dagger just a little more closely to Yami's skin. "I hear you utter so much as a syllable, and I'll slit his throat."

Taking the threat seriously Seto closed his mouth, a deep scowl on his face as his attempt of casting whatever spell may have helped, was shattered.

"Release me at once!" The demon Lord commanded, his grief quickly shifting to anger and, though he wouldn't admit it, minor panic.

Malik scowled. "I hardly think you're in a position to be giving **me** orders,_ Yami_." He answered tauntingly, infuriating most by not referring to the ruler as 'Lord'. He was the slave's superior after all…

…yeah right.

Yami made a move to grab the blonde's wrist and pull the dagger away from his throat himself, but as soon as he raised his arm, Malik instantly pressed the blade closer, the weapon lightly digging into his skin and causing a thin line of blood to trickle down his neck. Yami, being the smart demon he was, cautiously lowered his arm again, though be it in a extremely frustrated manner.

Malik's harsh violet eyes then shifted onto the smallest angel in the room who just happened to be gaping at him in a very distressed fashion. Malik merely looked past the expression however. "Yugi, go unlock Katsuya's chains."

Yugi didn't move. "Y-You're not going t-to hurt him…?" The lilac-eyed boy was shacking quite badly, looking between Malik and Yami in both desperation and shame.

"Yugi…" Malik warned in a slight growl. This wasn't the time or place to start arguing over something, in Malik's opinion, so trivial. He was trying to get him and his friends out of this mess and he didn't need Yugi making the entire thing more difficult than it already was.

"B-But…"

Thankfully Ryou made the move to stop the little complication before it erupted into something bigger. With Bakura now busy glaring at Malik, he had no trouble walking over to Yugi and placing two comforting hands on his shoulders.

Yugi jumped slightly but then quickly met Ryou's eyes with his own. "Ryou…" He whispered in a weak, pleading voice.

The angel smiled as best he could. "It'll be ok Yugi. I promise." And with that Ryou removed one of his hands and bent down to pick up the lock his friend had earlier dropped, holding it out for him to take.

There was a pause in Yugi's reaction, and he simply stared at the other a while longer anxiously. Ryou would usually take his side if he disapproved of what Malik was doing, and he hoped that that was the case now. The look in Ryou's eyes didn't change however, and Yugi knew he didn't have a chance in succeeding. The paler teen obviously thought that all this was necessary, that he didn't have a choice. The shorter boy lowered his gaze and gave a small nod of his head before taking the object from Ryou's hand and beginning work on the lock.

Jounouchi sat their dumbly, mouth opening and closing like a gasping fish as he watched Yugi begin to try and release him from his chains. Words failed him at that moment and no matter how hard he tried to speak, not a single sound left his mouth. Then again even if he could speak, it was highly unlikely that anything he would have said would have made much sense. What in Heavens name was happening?! Had the demons done something to him again and now he was hallucinating? Well that made a lot more sense than _this _did…. But… they _looked_ real… could he dare to hope that…? But if they were then when did they-? _How_ are they--?

Oh, if only he could get his mouth working…

"I should have guessed that you were an angel!" Bakura suddenly snarled, glaring fiercely at the slave that held his brother captive. "A disgusting, pitiful rat that's even more worthless than a human! You fucking holy God-loving piece of shit! I…"

Bakura's blood-boiling rant continued, slowly bringing Malik's self control to breaking point. The courageous angel almost lost it and was about to do one of two things, either a: throw the dagger straight at the youngest ruler's head, or b: lose concentration and scream insults back until his throat turned sore.

Malik did not get the chance to do any of these things.

"Shut the fuck up Bakura!!"

The hostile angel blinked, taken back by the voice that so willingly came to his defence. Marik, his _Master_, was glaring at the younger brother with such fury that, at that moment, it could have easily been mistaken as hate. Perhaps Malik should have found this amusing; a demon coming to _his _defence when he didn't even need or want it, but it only made him feel nervous. It wasn't the kind of nervous that would have you on your toes exactly, it was more of a… painful feeling, very slow and drawn out that somehow just forced you to turn silent. Why though? Why was he being effected like this? Malik didn't know. Maybe it was just the surprise of hearing Marik swear? The ruler had never swore around him before… Or… maybe it was just seeing Marik angry? The demon had always acted oddly with him but never had Malik once seen him get mad, let alone _this_ furious. Yeah… That was probably it…

Bakura did 'shut up', looking a little surprised himself when seeing the look he was given.

Suddenly Marik was looking at him and Malik's nerves increased ten-fold. Just how did Marik do that? How could he look so angry one second, and now look so… so… sad? Disappointed? Worried? Just what was that in the demon's eyes? He didn't understand… or perhaps he simply didn't _want_ to look close enough _to_ understand…

God… Why wouldn't Marik just look away?

"Malik-pretty…" His enemy spoke softly, carefully stepping forwards. "Please…"

Damn it, what was he going to do?! Marik was getting too close! The bastard needed to stop moving towards him! But- But that _look_ that Marik was giving him… It wouldn't let him speak… WHY WOULDN'T IT LET HIM SPEAK?!

"S-St-op-"

But it was too late, the demon, the one that he had repeatedly said he hated over and over again inside his head, was practically standing in front of him. All Marik had to do was reach out and-

Jounouchi's shackles suddenly clicked open, the chains around his wrists falling to the floor and making a dull scraping noise as they hit the stone floor.

Malik forced himself to snap out of it. As though his disturbing moment of weakness never happened, Malik skilfully sprung backwards, releasing his demonic-hostage and making a swift grab for something below his ankle. It all happened quicker than the eye could see, and before Yami could even spin round to shoot a glare, Malik appeared standing with a small glass bottle held above his head.

Seto looked at the potion in confusing, his eyebrows narrowing with suspicion. Now why did that look so familiar?…

The spell-caster's eyes turned wide.

"DON'T YOU--!"

The command wasn't quick enough, and even if it was it wouldn't have mattered.

Glass shattered and thick layers of smoke filled the room. Masses of blood-red mist expanded and smothered the demons forms from head to toe, the potion chocking it's victims as they tried not to inhale the suffocating fumes. The sound of faint roars were heard followed quickly my broken gasps and painful coughs. It was too much; the rulers couldn't breath and the seemingly endless colour of red rendered them blind.

The environment quickly brought on to much to bare. The lack of oxygen was conjuring it's own effects, ones that were determined to bring everyone in that hall to the floor in a dead faint, but just as the ruler's thought their bodies couldn't struggle under the strain anymore, just as they thought that that breath they took in would be their last, an explosion managed to steal them away from their dark thoughts.

Rubble fell and rolled across the ground, stones the size of bullets flew into the air.

Three pairs of eyes, one a dark lavender, one a rich brown, and another a deep crimson, rose up from the chaos...

…but neither one of them moved.

Yami stood there, sharp eyes unbelievably wide and mouth hanging slightly open, staring at the gaping hole where the right wall of the hall was suppose to be, the needed structure now nothing more than a half-hearted barrier that gave them a nice view of the outside courtyard.

What… just happened?…

Seto brought a hand to his mouth, muffling his last cough. Though the room was pretty much destroyed now, the fresh air that was coming in was something to be thankful for. The blue-eyed Lord turned his head left and right, the absence of the angels not going unnoticed. Kaiba looked towards the guards who were just now getting their breath back, most of them easily seen now even with the lingering fog. "Don't just stand there!" Seto yelled at the guards, realising that the rulers were in no condition to be giving orders, it didn't look like they were in the condition to do anything at the moment. "Go after them!" He ordered, pointing to the hole that the angels undoubtedly used as their escape.

The guards did what they were told without question. Immediately the demons spread their large leathery wings, one by one flying through the broken wall to pursue the four angels.

"Lord Yami?" Seto asked carefully, walking over to the dumfounded lords.

Yami said nothing.

He turned to Bakura. "Lord Bakura?"

No reply.

"Lord Marik?"

Silence.

Seto doubted that calling the rulers dog names would make them talk.

…Suddenly Seto turned just as quiet as the other Lords.

And so the three rulers and one spell caster stood their in the middle of carnage, not one of them speaking a word. The guards had all left, the slaves were gone, and the six demons on the balcony?…

They were nowhere to be seen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind was strong, stronger in fact than the angels had ever expected it to be in Hell, the humid gusts hitting their faces with an almost stinging sensation. Though, perhaps the wind wasn't the cause for this at all, merely instead the reckless speed in which the angels were flying.

They could hardly be blamed though.

By some miracle the four outsiders had made it to the realm's wasteland, their brief encounter with dirty-brown and black blurs thankfully left behind once they managed to fly over the area in Hell in which the demons resided, the large marketplace now a mere spec in the distance. That fact in itself was a great relief to the angels and filled their hearts with hope. How could it not? Never before had Malik, Ryou or Yugi ever managed to get this close to freedom, all their past attempts had proved futile. This time though… this time it looked like they were actually going to make it.

The four were flying in a formation that they were taught in Heaven. Flying was one of the great advantages of being an angel, and so learning to fly had always been one of the first things taught to a newcomer of Heaven, formations had just made it easier for groups of angels that were learning at the same time to fly together. The way they were flying now just came to them naturally, Malik at the front with Ryou and Yugi slightly behind at either side of him. Jounouchi however…

"Quit lagging behind Katsuya!"

Jounouchi was flying completely out of tune with the rest of them, and the way he pumped his wings were quickly beginning to slow. Ryou and Yugi had managed to grab their shaggy haired friend and lead him to the 'entrance' Malik had made for them during all the commotion. At first Jounouchi had managed to keep up with them, but now…

"He's still feeling weak Malik!" Ryou shouted over the loud whistling of the wind.

"We're **not **slowing down!" Malik yelled back and turned to look over his shoulder. "If Katsuya wants to-" The bronze-teen stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening sharply. Confused of Malik's odd behaviour Ryou turned his head to look behind him.

His reaction was one very much similar to Malik's.

"He's falling!" Yugi shouted out in panic as he watched the guard start to fall from the sky, blonde hair pressed flat against his face as he fell head first, wings surly being damaged as the slightly open feathers were pounded against the strong wind at an awkward angle.

Malik didn't so much as hesitate. "I'll get Katsuya! You two just keep going!" After all, if he didn't go save him then Yugi and Ryou surly would, and that was something Malik couldn't allow them to do, not when they were so close.

Without waiting for a reply Malik lowered himself and tilted his body to the side, quickly turning himself the other way and propelling himself forwards at full speed towards the guard's flightless body. It didn't take him long, not with the wind now pushing him forwards from behind instead of fighting against him and ruthlessly hitting his face. If he was quick enough he'd be able to catch Katsuya without the need of going into a dive. It was all about timing and to get the timing right he needed to focus all his concentration on the angel he would usually enjoy tormenting so much.

There. Just a few more seconds and Malik would be able to thrust himself forwards and grab Jounouchi around the waist. He just had to-

A roar cut through the air and Malik's eyes immediately darted towards the foreign sound, gaze zeroing in on the blurs behind Jounouchi's form.

Demons. Many of them. All of them swinging weapons and flying towards him in a mighty charge. The angel's breath was caught in his throat. He couldn't breathe, his limbs felt weak and his mind just went blank.

The lack of concentration caused Malik to miss his chance at catching Jounouchi, and instead of saving him, the stunned teen instead crashed right into him. The force of the crash hit him hard, not surprising considering the speed he had been using to reach the other. Arms and legs became tangled, wings became caught in wings, feathers were torn, and pain rushed up Malik's spine and shoulder blades from the very tips of bird-like bone. If Malik had been given the chance to close his wings he would have, but he hadn't been and so was now forced to suffer the airs cruel torture as wind resistance exerted itself against his defenceless, half-open, feathered limbs. The extra pair of wings slowed their decent to the ground down some-what, but not by much. Malik could only hope that the pain would allow them a gentler landing when finally hitting the dry land below them… at least, gentle enough so the impact wouldn't kill them…

And then it happened. Earth met skin and the two angels skidded across the ground, dust flying in their wake. Malik gritted his teeth together as flesh was scraped from his body, Katsuya's unconscious body being partly held in his arms until they slowly came to a halt.

Malik coughed as the dust began to settle and he carefully separated his tangled body parts from Jounouchi's, wincing slightly as he saw the grazes across his arms, legs and shoulder, but he knew, when it came down to it, he could have came out of that one a lot worse than he did, or, perhaps, not at all. He didn't let himself think much of it though, instead the conscious blonde raised himself onto his arms and stood, about to try and pick the guard up, but again he was not given the chance.

A demon landed in front of him.

Malik snarled, but before he could so much as make a fist the demon had already raised his weapon, a blunt, overly large club, and swung it towards Malik's chest. The teen was knocked backwards but refused to shout out in pain as he once again made contact with the floor. He found himself staring up at that damned vortex of a sky, and, though he hoped the recent rough treatment had merely made him go delusional, he could have sworn he saw Yugi and Ryou closing in, bravely making their way closer to come to his rescue…

… right before twenty or so demons launched themselves and surrounded them until they were blocked from his view.

He heard Yugi screaming, Ryou shouting, and as his own attacker came to stand over him, blocking his view of the sky and raising his club again to aim at his head, he knew that this was it.

This was the day they were going to die all over again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh my god… So much drama!… I don't like it. I mean, ok, it's not as bad as chapter 9, but still… Then again, maybe it's just me. Yeah, so I'm sure you're all thinking, 'WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!' considering how long it took me to update this time. Life hasn't been going too well for me at the moment, but to go into that I would have to tell you all about a load of personal crap that I'm sure none of you want to hear about. That, and of course college doesn't give you a lot of free time. So I'll just say that I'm sorry. I'll try not to update as slowly as this next time… Forgive me?

Thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews! That had to be the most reviews I've ever got for a chapter and I'm happy to know you all enjoyed it so much! And will you look at that? Jou's not dead! Well, not yet anyway… Sorry I haven't done individual replies this time, but there were so many that it would have taken me another good 4 pages to answer them all which would have taken me even _longer_ to post the chapter up. That doesn't mean I didn't appreciate every single one of them though!

Tell me what you thought of the chapter and review for me again? They really do cheer me up… (even if I don't deserve it…)


	17. Chapter 17

-1Chapter 17

"That wasn't at all how I expected to see it…"

A mass of brown was sweeping down the south corridors of the rulers castle. Six demons, still covered in common-looking tan robes, were rushing to the very back of the stone fortress.

"It does not matter." One of the figures spoke up. "The master did what he promised."

"But it is the way that promise unravelled that concerns me!" The first replied heatedly.

"I agree." A third concurred. "The way the rulers reacted to the first angel was just as we hoped." He paused, his voice heavily confused. "But the other three angels…"

"I wasn't even aware there would be four!" Another argued, jumping in before the other could continue. "As far as I was aware there was only to be one! Master Pegasus said nothing of changing his plan to _four!_"

The six demons finally came to a halt before a single closed door.

"As I said before," the demon at the front of the group started, his hand already clasped around the doorknob "it does not matter. The rulers now have no reason to suspect that we are playing against them, because of Master Pegasus they will blame one, if not all, of the angels. Who cares if more than one angel appeared to take _our_ unjust fate?"

As expected, neither demon could complain about that fact, and so, with no one making a move to argue, the handle was turned and the six entered a bleak, bare looking room. The area was a pitiful, if not completely abandoned, use of space. A small table stood in the centre along with some flimsy chairs, and below the furniture was a slightly faded red rug.

Immediately the demons separated and went to their individual tasks, almost like it was some type of odd repeated ritual. Two demons walked over to the table and lifted it off of the rug, taking it to the far left wall instead. Another two demons followed closely after, each taking a chair and placing it near to where the table had been positioned. The last two demons then crouched down onto their knees and rolled the rug up to the wall opposite to where the furniture had been moved to.

With everything now moved out of the way the demons who had lifted the table then simultaneously gave a clap of their hands. The loud sound seemed to trigger off something unseen and two candle sticks magically appeared hovering five feet from the ground, one floating perfectly still to the far right, and a second doing the same on the far left.

Shadows from every corner of that room crawled along the floor and rushed to the centre seconds later. They moulded themselves together and then stretched themselves high, peeling themselves off from the floor until they were levitating just as well as the candles were but in the form of a black sphere. The sphere then swiftly spread itself to create the appearance of a thin, rectangular mirror but with dark, fogged-over glass.

The demons stared at the object calmly, watching the dusty mist swirl sharply before the mirror cleared and a familiar face appeared in the glass.

"Well?" Pegasus asked expectantly from behind his desk.

"Everything went according to plan Master Pegasus. The angel appeared just like you said he would." One of the six replied.

"Good." Pegasus said simply. "Now that your pathetic insecurities have been put to rest we can finally get back to the matter at hand." He then leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smirk on his face. "That blonde idiot didn't seem to be much of a guard anyway. By the time anyone realises he's missing, I will have already…" He stopped himself there, only now noticing the way the council members were looking at him curiously. "What?" Pegasus snapped irritably.

The demons gave each other a nervous glance before the one that had been complaining earlier chose to speak up.

"Forgive me Master but…" The elderly demon seemed to have trouble with speaking the question aloud. "So you only sent one angel?"

The angel's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the demons in front of him with a questioning glare. "Of course." He answered suspiciously. "Are you trying to tell me there was more?"

"Three more, my Lord." Another said. "We thought that you had perhaps sent them here on purpose." The council turned silent then, waiting anxiously for Pegasus's verdict.

"Three? It's amazing that Hell hasn't already crumbled under those imbeciles leadership." Heaven's elder muttered pensively before falling into more private thoughts. Three? Now what were three angels doing in Hell? It was ridiculous to think that even one angel would willingly travel to Hell… So why would three of them do exactly that? Had that Otogi boy gathered companions to go find the guard already? It was possible that the guardian angel had grown sick of waiting for Jounouchi to return… and if he believed the guard was still alive… well, denial can make people do the most ludicrous things after all… However the guardian seemed very loyal to the elders. Surely he would not break their laws so blindly? No, not the guardian then. The elders perhaps? Had they become aware of his goal and took matters into their own hands?… Unlikely. If the elders had caught wind of his plans then they would have confronted him in person. Sending very few of their own kind to the underworld wouldn't have done them any good anyway. The most plausible answer was that the guards were being lazy and letting others pass through the gates. Jounouchi was proof of that.

Well then, if it was a mere accident then there was nothing for him to worry about. The coincidence could actually work to his advantage. "Good." He said suddenly. "Fantastic even."

"Fantastic, sir?"

"Yes." Pegasus looked at them harshly. "Are you all so insolent that you can't even see the advantage this brings?" It was a rhetorical question and so the council didn't so much as attempt to answer it. "I wouldn't have considered it before. The possibility of fooling enough angels to go to Hell would have been too unlikely to work. Now that there are four already down there however…" Trailing off, Pegasus seemed to be lost in thought again before snapping back to attention sharply. "Have the rulers killed them yet?"

The council shook their heads, only one bravely replying aloud. "Not yet. For some reason the rulers have thrown the angels into the dungeons instead…"

"Perfect." Something between a sardonic smile and a sickening grin made its way onto Pegasus's face. "Then they will be able to help us immediately."

Taken back by the remark, the council couldn't help but speak their mind. "Help us?" One began asking dubiously. "Master, I doubt four angels would be willing to help, or even listen to, demons… I suppose we could offer them some kind of deal? Perhaps say that we could get them out of Hell if they help us first… but even so I don't see what good their help will do."

Their master began laughing. "You can't? Really?" No reply. Pegasus stifled his laughter abruptly and gave a roll of his eyes. "Of course you can't, none of you can. I at times forget how thick you six are." The six were naturally insulted, but they knew complaining about the bitter words would only get them into trouble. Silence was the only option. "Angels." He began. "They're fragile creatures really, but they wield amazing abilities. Abilities that a demon would never be able to accept they have due to pure ignorance."

One of the council members dared to interrupt. "You mean white magic, Master?"

"White magic to such an extent that demons could never dream of possessing, that most angels aren't even aware they have!" A satisfied smirk crept onto Pegasus's face. "A demon wouldn't stand a chance. They will help us. They won't have a choice."

Pegasus gave a slight wave of his hand and four oddly sized rings appeared floating before the council. Each ring was black, the texture looking similar in style to chrome.

"Master?" The six looked back towards Pegasus for an explanation.

Smirk still in place, Pegasus leaned back in his chair. "Once you've destroyed the mind all that's left is a body to manipulate…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something was staring at him.

Jouchunchi was laying on his back, arms lax by his sides and eyes half open. He didn't know where he was, nor did he care. He only knew that wherever he was, it was dark; dark and strange. Strange because there was a pair of large, sharp eyes looking down at him from the black, never-ending ceiling. That was it, nothing else. No head, nose, hair, ears or mouth.

Just eyes.

They were coloured a deep blue and were frosty and cold looking. They never blinked, just stared right at him. Even if he couldn't see a face… he still knew the owner of those eyes, didn't he?

"The demon…" Jouchunchi murmured groggily, sleepily staring right back.

"He doesn't need any 'encouragement'."

The voice wasn't his, rather another that he found himself recognising, the sentence echoing around him loud and clear, bouncing off walls that he couldn't see.

"Boy."

He knew the voice was referring to him, completely unable to stop the shiver that ran down his spine due to the voice's harsh tone.

"You are suspected of attempted murder. Attempted assassination of our rulers to be exact."

"So?" He whispered back uncaringly. Hadn't they already had this conversation?

"Don't you understand? A crime such as this goes beyond the death penalty, not even your fellow angels can come to your aid when trapped here."

"I don't care." He really didn't. He'd lost Yugi and Ryou, even that annoying Malik was gone. He wasn't going to get out of Hell so why did he care if he died or not?

"We all know you can talk, so stop acting like you can't!"

What? Didn't he just reply?

"You aren't going to talk? Fine, I guess you really are just a dumb mutt."

Jounouchi began to get angry and he narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a-"

"I don't know what ya talking about. Am no assassin. But if ya wanna kill me… then just do it."

Wait… wasn't that his voice? It sounded like him… It was then that Jounouchi noticed something odd happening to the demon's eyes. They changed. It was only in a minor way but it was undoubtedly noticeable. They weren't cold, more… sad. In fact, Jounouchi was certain that the eyes were looking at him with sympathy.

For some reason that thought made his heart beat a little quicker.

"_Stupid bastard."_

The guard blinked, completely taken off-guard Wasn't that Malik? But where was he? His voice sounded so far away…

"_Stop that Malik."_

Ryou?

"_Yeah Malik. Jou's probably already got a headache and all you're doing is making it worse!"_

The blue eyes began to fade and a dull throb started to set into Jounouchi's head, quickly followed by a sharp pain.

--------(End dream sequence)--------

"Katsuya deserves it!"

"You know that's not true Malik. Now stop throwing-"

"Ow! Jounouchi yelped when feeling something hard collide with the side of his head, immediately causing him to snap open his eyes.

At first the guard didn't know what to make of his surroundings, confusion taking a tight hold on his mind. Bars were the fist thing he saw, long, thick ones that reached up from the floor all the way to the ceiling to create a wall, reminding him of a prison cell. The next thing he noticed was the lack of light, the only source being a torch attached to the wall on the other side of the bars.

Just where the heck was he?

"Oh, finally awake mutt? And here I was hoping you'd fallen into an inescapable coma."

Jounouchi, after realising he was laying on the floor, quickly sat up and twisted round to look behind himself. There, peering at him from the far back wall with scrutinizing eyes, was Malik… at least he thought it was Malik. It was hard to tell with it being so dark, the person was half covered by shadows. It sounded like him… Could it be a demon playing a trick on him? Or… could all of this… Could all that had happened truly be real?

He knew it was Malik's voice, but still… how could it be? He had to be sure. "Malik? Is that reall-OW!"

A small rock was thrown by the figure's hand and the sharp pain in Jounouchi's skull returned as the object bounced off his forehead.

Well that explained the headache…

"You voice is so fucking irritating Katsuya. Don't talk, you don't deserve to. Do you even know what you've cost us? Do you even fucking _know _what you've done?" The figure, of whom Jounouchi was now certain was Malik by the language it used and the name of 'Katsuya', spat both the question and insult vilely.

Done? What had he done? Thoughts ran through his head as memories tried to catch up with him. He remembered being brought into a large hall, seeing a demon with white hair raising a blade, both the blade and demon then being thrown back… He remembered the demon with blue eyes, red magic whizzing around the room… then Ryou, Yugi and Malik, something he thought was an illusion. Then what? An explosion? Yes it must have been. Dust flying everywhere, being pulled and lead into the air, and then… and then… nothing…

The guard was about to open his mouth, despite having told he didn't 'deserve' to talk, to ask a question, to try and make sense of everything, but Malik was quicker.

"Well? You don't, do you?! Of course you don't! You're just some thick-headed mongrel who decided he'd go ruin everything because- because I don't even know why!!!" Malik literally screamed his frustration and moved from his spot by the wall to grab the fellow angel by the collar of his shirt, yanking him from the floor and slamming him into the bars behind him. Jounouchi was too shocked and too confused to do anything to stop it. In the entire time he had known Malik, argued with him and fought, never had he heard him sound this furious before. "We're trapped in a cold, dingy, _prison cell _ for God knows how long before those three idiotsthat_ you_ revealed yourself to will heard us out like some _animals _and _**kill**_us!" Malik dropped his voice then and pressed his face closer to Jounouchi's, a snarl on his lips. "And it's all **your fault**." He hissed out wrathfully.

The words hit Jounouchi hard. He didn't know what to say. He didn't understand. The only thing he could do was stare into Malik's hateful eyes, completely horrified.

"That's enough Malik!" Ryou yelled firmly from the cell across from them, gripping the bars of his cage-like prison tightly. "You can't blame this on Jou!"

"That's right!" Yugi, who was sharing the same cell as Ryou, shouted his support and jumped to Ryou's side. "It's not his fault that he got captured!"

"Not his fault?" Malik repeated in a slow, demeaning tone as he shot a glare over Jounouchi's shoulder to the cell across from them. "He shouldn't even be here!" His eyes then snapped back to the angelic guard. "Of course it's his fault." He growled.

Ryou frowned. The way Malik was acting towards Jounouchi was worrying, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Malik decided he wanted to get violent. In fact he was almost certain that any second now Malik would lose what little control he had of his temper and start using his fists. What was even more unsettling was the way Jou was reacting to this. He seemed to be stuck in some kind of stupefied state. It was unlikely that he would try and defend himself.

"I'm sure Jou didn't choose to get caught by demons." Ryou started. "If you want to blame someone so badly Malik, then blame me. I'm the one who jumped from the balcony, I'm the one who knocked Bakura over… _I'm_ the one who put us all in danger."

There was a silence then.

Yugi frowned as he looked up at the face beside him, the guilt searing through Ryou's eyes. Seeing this made the small angel suddenly feel eerie. Ryou would always try so hard to keep his negative feelings from showing, especially when he knew they would only worry others. Yugi didn't know why he did it, and at times he wondered if Ryou even did. This time though… this time it didn't look like Ryou could help himself from showing just that little bit of unease.

But Ryou had nothing to feel guilty for.

Shaking his head, Yugi fixed his eyes back across the dark abyss that lead to Malik and Jounouchi's prison. "I was planning to do the same thing, Ryou just beat me to it! I followed straight after!" Yugi concluded desperately. "If Ryou didn't jump first then I would have!"

Both angels waited with heated breath as Malik continued to stare into the guard's clueless, honey-glazed eyes. The seconds ticked by slowly, Malik not saying a word, face still contorted in anger and all the while Ryou and Yugi were losing hope.

Finally the more hostile angel let out a frustrated sigh, slammed his victim into the bars one more time, and then stomped back to sit against his wall.

Yugi and Ryou let out a relieved sigh as their other blonde friend let himself slide to the floor, the bewilderment and shock still leaving him a little too disorientated to make sense of what happened.

"Thank you."

The tricolour-haired teen blinked and turned his attention back onto the boy beside him. Ryou was looking at him with gratitude, that familiar smile that would always bring Yugi comfort, that would always assure him that everything was ok, finally back in place. Immediately the eerie feeling left and Yugi smiled back.

"It's the truth." He answered honestly.

Ryou's smile widened just that little bit more at the reply, but all too soon Yugi's brightened features fell, and with them so did Ryou's. "I… I know this is hard Yugi…"

The concern in Ryou's voice was evident but all Yugi could do was nod in reply as he sunk to the floor, Ryou following him down. He couldn't help it. He knew he should be strong but…

Lord Yami hated him now.

"I…" The depressed teen started, eyes lowered to the floor, but he couldn't get the full sentence out. He wanted to tell. He wanted to tell Ryou about everything, about Lord Yami, his feelings, his fears… but he was scared. Would Ryou hate him? Would Ryou hate him for loving a demon? The thought stung. He couldn't bare it if Ryou or Malik abandoned him! He loved them! Loved them like brothers! No, Ryou couldn't hate him… he couldn't. He just couldn't…!

"Talk to me Yugi."

He raised his eyes and Ryou was staring at him again, the concern in his voice now clearly shown on his face as well, eyes pleading with him silently.

He couldn't hate him.

"Ryou, I…"

He couldn't.

"Yes?"

He _wouldn't_.

Yugi hurriedly turned away and took a deep breath. "I loved him. I-I still do. I love him."

There, he'd said it. It didn't matter if it didn't make much sense, it was out now. Perhaps Ryou wouldn't think much of it. If the explanation was too unclear and Ryou saw that it made him upset, maybe Ryou would drop it.

But Yugi didn't want Ryou to drop it…

"You mean… Lord Yami?"

Ryou's voice didn't give much away. There was no disgust but no happiness in it either, only a hint of curiosity. Yugi didn't dare turn his head to see the expression on his comrade's face though. The expression could give away what the tone of voice did not.

The spiky-haired angel's head moved up and down as he gave a subtly nod of confirmation. "I- I know I'm not suppose to. It's w-wrong and… a-and…" Tears came in fear of what his confession would bring, hiccups interrupting his words as he failed to hold back his sobs. "Do… D-Do you hate me now Ryou?" Arms enveloped him from behind and Yugi's head snapped round to look at the other with surprise, tears still slowly leaking. "Ryou…?"

"I could never hate you Yugi." Ryou began in a soft, comforting tone.

"B-But I… Lord Yami-"

"It doesn't matter." The chocolate-eyed boy continued. "You can't help loving who you love… ok?"

"…Even if it's a demon?" Yugi questioned quietly with child-like innocence.

"Even if it's a demon." Ryou confirmed.

Quickly the smaller boy twisted round in his friend's grasp to throw his own arms around the other's waist, pressing his face into the other's shirt while relief gladly took over his system. "I guess I was overreacting… It's just… I was so unsure… Malik told me liking a demon was wrong."

"Some might not like the idea of an angel and a demon together, but I'm sure Malik didn't mean it like that. He's been stressed out lately."

Yugi murmured his agreement. It wasn't as though any of it really mattered now anyway. Yugi doubted Yami's returned feelings now more then ever. People didn't throw their loved ones in prison. Yami didn't want him. He had to accept that… No matter how much it hurt… It actually… in some part of Yugi's mind it felt familiar. The_ pain _felt familiar…

…and he _hated _it.

"Hey, Ryou?" The lilac-eyed angel asked suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Did you… Did you like Lord Bakura? The same way I like Lord Yami I mean."

Ryou tensed, and Yugi instantly felt bad for asking.

Love Bakura? The thought seemed so foreign in Ryou's mind. He didn't hate the demon, it was so hard for Ryou to hate someone, but he wasn't sure he _liked_ him either. Maybe he should hate him. The ruler had been very cruel to him after all and he'd given him countless heart attacks… However there had been times when Bakura was _almost_ nice. Bakura had comforted him when he needed it the most, mended his wounds regardless if Ryou could do it himself or not. Though more often than not Bakura was the one who put the wounds there in the first place…

Bakura could be kind on occasion… but was that really enough?

"I don't know Yugi… I don't think so…"

Yugi didn't push the subject further and let the conversation turn silent for a few seconds. "What Malik said was true wasn't it. They're really going to kill us aren't they." It wasn't a question and for once Ryou wasn't sure what to say to make Yugi feel better, but Yugi didn't wait for an answer, he continued and Ryou was thankful that he did. "But… miracles _do_ happen… right Ryou?" Yugi's voice was full of child-like hope and his eyes lifted to gaze at Ryou the way a child would look for encouragement from their parent.

Ryou couldn't crush that.

"Right Yugi."

Across from them Jounouchi was only just starting to collect his bearings. He grabbed a fist full of hair with each of his hands and then gave his head a desperate shake. "I don't understand!" He said finally, untangling his fingers from his short, blonde locks and letting his arms drop. "This shouldn't be happenin'!" The heaven's guard then fixed his eyes on his cellmate. "You shouldn't be down here! None of you should!"

"And you should?" Malik muttered back, voice slightly distant.

"That's not what I mean!" Jounouchi tried frantically. "You're suppose to be in Heaven, diein' to some unknown illness!" He watched as the other shifted, unknowingly moving himself at a slight angle so that his features were now seen in the dim light, his violet orbs gazing past Jounouchi's shoulder. "Hey, are you listening to me?" His rival didn't answer. "Malik?!" Why wasn't he listening? "Malik…?"

"I tried so hard…" Malik whispered, more talking to himself than the other sitting in front of him.

A confused Jounouchi furrowed his eyebrows and followed his aggressor's line of vision. He soon found himself staring at a teary-eyed Yugi being held in Ryou's arms. Jounouchi's shoulders sank sadly at the site and for a moment his confusion was replaced by pity.

"I tried so hard but it all amounted to nothing." Malik continued with bitter sorrow. "I was _so sure _I could get them out of here. Even when I knew we had to wait a little while before we could, I still kept telling them everything would be fine. I swore to myself I'd keep them safe…" Malik stopped and took in a shallow breath, one that sounded unmistakably strained in order to hold back a remorseful sob. "In… In the end I couldn't even do that. Who knows what those demons have done to them behind closed doors? They didn't tell me anything so I could only assume…" At this point his focus was stuck mournfully on the white-haired angel. "My mind came up with the most horrible things. Things I bet they'd never tell me about…"

"Malik…" Jounouchi felt like he should say something to comfort the teen, but the words eluded him.

"I failed them."

What possible words were there to make this even _remotely _better?

"I'm…" Jounouchi was struggling. It didn't matter that he thought Malik was an arrogant twat. Things were different now. "I'm sure you did all you could."

Two glaring purple eyes snapped towards him. The guard gulped; apparently that hadn't been the right thing to say…

"What are you doing here Katsuya?" Asked a rather ticked-off Malik, voice having immediately lost its self-pitying tone.

Quickly Katsuya's anxious state turned into an annoyed one. "What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?! You'll all suppose to be in Heaven, sick! What? Did you all recover and then decide to follow me down or somethin'?"

"Sick? We were never ill in the first place you idiot. How the heck did you come up with that?"

"Whaaa…?" Jounouchi gaped. "Pegasus said he found you all on earth, practically half dead!"

"Pegasus?" Malik questioned with puzzlement. "The new elder?"

"Yeah! He said-"

But the guard was cut short, the noise of multiple footsteps sounding louder than Jounouchi's voice ever could.

Every angel froze and their hearts began beating just that little bit faster. Thoughts of eager executioners making their way down the long corridor, ropes and sacks tucked under their arms, causing their breaths to hitch. The image of the Grim Reaper, a scythe gripped in one of his haunting, skinless hands, looming frighteningly in their minds.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god…" Yugi began mumbling to himself, still hiding in Ryou's arms, every brown, purple and honey-coloured eye watching for the first sign of inescapable danger.

They were slightly surprised to see six ancient-looking demons turn the corner.

None of them had the ropes or sacks the angel's were expecting, and though they did look quite old with their sagging skin and bony figures, they were certainly not a group of Grim Reapers.

Malik's eyes narrowed, quickly recognising the familiar tanned robes. What were those guys from the balcony doing here of all places? Had the rulers seriously ordered some old-aged pensioners to do their dirty work for them?… But how when they hadn't brought anything to kill them with? Were they going to do it with their bare hands? If so then Malik would be able to take them out easily!

Wait… what were the last two demons planning to do with those rings they were holding?

"Hey!" The usually mischievous angel yelled suddenly as three of the demons, including one of the two with those odd rings, moved to open Ryou's and Yugi's cell door. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Leave them alone!"

Malik could only watch with anxiety as he was ignored, half of the demons now inside of his friends small prison while said friends began scrambling back, Yugi now stood behind a worried Ryou who was trying to keep them at a distance.

"Stop it!" Ryou shouted, doing his best to be brave. "Just go away! We haven't-" But the cell was tiny and all too soon the demons were close enough to grab him. Ryou chocked on his own voice as two of the elderly men unexpectedly slammed him against the wall, using an amount of force that Ryou didn't think they were capable of having.

"Ryou!" The spiky-haired teen of course moved to help him, frightened or not he couldn't just stand there and watch his friend being attacked!

However, before Yugi could even take one step the third demon moved and blocked his way, arms hastily trapping him and lifting him from the floor. "L-Let go! What are you doing to-"

"Be quiet!" The demon hissed next to the small boy's ear. "You should be thanking us! At least this way you all have a chance of living a little longer…"

Yugi didn't understand but was distracted from asking by Ryou's cry.

The chocolate-eyed angel was struggling wildly in his captors grasp, sadly causing little success in loosening their hold, only encouraging the demons to grip him tighter. The culprit pressing the pale teen to the wall with his left hand raised his right, a black, circular ring held in its mitts. Without warning he placed the object over Ryou's head, a slightly excited spark set in his eyes.

The scream that would follow that act was one that would stay in Yugi's, Malik's and Jounouchi's minds forever.

As soon as the ring entered the primarily area of where an angel's halo would usually reside, an agonized, high-pitched scream was torn violently from Ryou's throat and the boy instantly arched his back as though he had just took a raw blow of impact from behind. His body began viciously trembling and his screams refused to calm as the demons dropped him, the angel's eyes chillingly beginning to roll back in his head as his hands gripped and pulled at his hair.

Horrified, his friends began to scream with him, desperately trying to reach out to the unwilling victim as though the act would enable them to take some of the angel's pain away. Their shouts and pleas didn't seem to do anything though. Ryou didn't even show any recognition that he heard their voices.

Suddenly Ryou's screaming died down, his body making one last flinch before his limbs fell limp. His eyes fell shut and the rest of the angels assumed he fell unconscious.

It was then that they felt something alarming in the air. It was the first hint they received that the both disturbing and heartbreaking display had yet to end. Normally an angel would have to search for another angel's aura in order to see it, regardless if the angel was close or not some concentration was still needed. It was only if an aura began to act unusually (like focusing and gaining strength for example) that another heavenly being would start to notice it without bothering to purposely seek it out.

Ryou's aura however… there was something… there was something _wrong_ with it.

The bizarre, black halo was now comfortably sitting on top of Ryou's aura, floating above Ryou's head and giving off a strange red glow. The colour radiating off the angel's being, once a luxurious gold, was now tainted and loosing it's shine until it turned into a grotesque grey.

The angels didn't need to look for it. The changes were just too large and disturbing for them to _not_ pick up on it. The dark energy now being emitted from the comatose other pulsed and caused strong ripples through the air. They didn't know why the demons were doing this to Ryou but the primary effect of the ring seemed to be clear.

It was to poison his aura.

The demons that had once been holding Ryou turned their backs on him to instead face Yugi, a satisfied smirk on their faces as one of them held up another ring. "Your turn little angel."

Yugi could do nothing to stop them.

A dull banging sound cut through the air and Jounouchi, who was yelling abuse at the ones who were conducting the meaningless chaos in front of him, immediately turned his head. Malik was running at their cell door, throwing his entire bodyweight at the obstacle with such force that the barrier would shake violently each time, the angel's face contorted in anger and desperation rather than pain every time the side of his shoulder made contact with that strong, but rusting metal.

Really the idea was ridiculous. Rusting or not, the door was designed to keep prisoners from escaping. Surly it would be able to handle a few knocks and thrashings? Regardless, the lanky blonde moved forward to try and help the other, it was more productive than his fruitless shouting after all.

It was at that moment that the door swung open and with the combination of a distracted Malik and awkward timing, Malik was sent crashing to the floor, three more demons entering the cell. With Malik on the floor the three demons overlooked him for the time being and instead, much to the guard's dismay, headed straight for Jounouchi. They didn't give him time to react, they just grabbed and pushed him to the floor. A ring was taken out, one just as black and terrifying as the one used on Ryou, and Jounouchi's eyes widened, heart threatening to beat out of his chest and the high pitch of Ryou's scream still fresh in his mind.

A demon was sent flying backwards, another following quickly after by the privilege of a tanned fist.

"Malik!?" Jounouchi yelled with a mix of hope and surprise. Surprise because he would have never expected Malik to help him, never mind save him.

Ignoring his yell Malik instead went for the third demon still left pinning the angel to the floor.

"You little bitch!"

However Malik's plan was foiled when a hand grasped the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

A rush of adrenalin flooded the shaggy-haired angel's veins once his fellow cellmate was wrenched from his view again. With only one demon trying to keep him under control the odds became fairer and Jounouchi managed to free one of his arms, immediately throwing his fist at his captor jaw and causing the other to tumble off him.

"Run Katsuya!"

But Katsuya was stuck. Stuck between doing what Malik told him to do or going against it. He wasn't a coward, he wouldn't just run to save his own skin while his fellow angels suffered. However the demons in Yugi's and Ryou's cell were becoming aware of their comrades problem and were starting to get restless. The demon he punched was also beginning to recover and looked to be in the mood for a second round.

Jounouchi knew he couldn't take on that many demons at once. To do so would only result in failure, a badly beaten body and the poisoning of his own aura. Yet he still couldn't just-

"For fucks sake, just **run** you stupid mutt! If you can't run for your own life then run for ours! Go home and-"

Malik was struggling with the two demons he was able to rip off the angelic guard from before when one suddenly managed to hit him in the gut. With the wind knocked out of him, he fell to his knees.

And so Jounouchi did what he was told; instead of running for his own life, he ran for **theirs**. He ran from his friend's screams and from the demons frustrated yells all for the slim chance that he could bring the angels salvation.

He ran with such a speed that he was unable to notice the way Ryou's eyes opened, both devoid of colour except for the darkest of blacks…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The silence was unbearable.

It was Seto who had taken control of the situation. _He_ was the one who ordered repairs to begin immediately on the entrance hall. _He_ was the one who brought order to the chaos that happened only hours ago. _He_ was the one who instructed the guards, servants, and fellow citizens that all was well, and _he_ was the one that had guided the three automaton rulers into an empty room, separating them from the happenings just outside four empty stone walls.

He was the one that was now sat in the dining hall, forced to suffer through the rulers tense silence, waiting and hoping that that moment of realisation would dawn on just one of them so that the matter could finally be discussed.

That moment didn't seem to come though.

With an irritated sigh, Seto spoke first. "None of you can ignore this. It needs to be talked about."

The statement received little to no reaction. Lord Yami was seated to the table, head slightly bowed, eyes glazed over as he stared at the floor. Lord Bakura sat across from him, dagger in his hand as he mindlessly dug out chunks of wood from the surface of the table, gaze set on the damage he was creating. Lord Marik sat next to Bakura, seeming to be in a world of his own, frowning to himself sadly.

Lord Kaiba gave his own frown. "Snap out of it!" He barked suddenly. "Stop this pitiful moping and pull yourselves together. The three of you need to decide what action should be taken." Still nothing, and though Seto somewhat regretted what he was about to say, the obvious still needed to be stated. "Execution is the most likely outcome."

The three flinched.

"…Why would execution be the most likely outcome?" Yami finally asked in a faint tone of voice.

Kaiba's frown deepened. The question seemed ridiculous. "Though I am aware that these angels are probably not the assassins you were searching for considering Bakura and Marik took them from earth themselves and were not here when the whole ordeal with Honda and Anzu arose, the fact is that they are still angels. One of which held a knife to your throat."

That comment got Marik's attention. "Malik-pretty didn't mean it! He was just scared! Scared for his friends! When Malik-pretty gets scared he can sometimes act violently, but he doesn't mean to!"

"Listen to yourself!" Bakura bellowed suddenly, giving the table a hard stab with his knife and turning to glare at the brother beside him. "Defending that stupid slave of yours like everything that happened doesn't matter. It's disgusting!"

"So you agree with Seto then? We should kill them?" Yami asked, raising his eyes and vaguely taking notice of the hideous migraine starting to set into his head.

For some reason Seto felt strangely offended. "I didn't say you should kill them. I merely said-"

"I don't fucking care what you and Marik do to your pathetic slaves." Bakura interrupted. "Kill or don't kill them. I don't give a shit. What I do with my slave however if completely up to me."

"And that is…?" The elder sibling persisted.

Bakura didn't answer straight away and for a long moment he simply stared into his brother's crimson eyes, his exterior harsh, cold and deadly serious. "Hack off his wings."

Yami was shocked by Bakura's idea. The cause for his shock wasn't the method itself, things as vile as that often came from Bakura's mouth, it was the thought that Bakura would keep the angel alive after putting him through such excruciating pain, pain that could easily be accomplished if Bakura were to go through his usual torture and kill sessions, sessions that he did on a regular basis. Why would he do that to the slave when his usual methods of punishment or murder could last so much longer and give him so much more enjoyment? Extracting wings from an angel, although insufferably painful, would take very little time and effort. It wasn't like Bakura at all…

And then it hit him.

"Ripping his wings off won't make him human Bakura."

"_Shut up_." The younger sibling growled.

"It won't!" Yami continued. "It's not as simple as that and you know it. All you'd be doing is mutilating an angel. Why would you even go through the trouble of-?"

"**I said shut up!!**" Bakura stood, the sudden movement knocking his chair back and onto the floor. "I'll do whatever the hell I want with him! I don't need to explain my reasons to _you _of all people!"

The demeaning edge to Bakura's voice did not go unnoticed by the eldest sibling. "Just what exactly is that suppose to mean?"

Bakura looked at him accusingly. "Don't give me that bullshit. I know what your doing. You're waiting for me and Marik to come up with an answer that doesn't involve you, that way you don't have to face up to the fact that that shrimp of yours screwed you over!"

"That makes absolutely no sense!" Yami shouted back with vicious vigour. "For what possible reason would I have for letting you come up with the outcome for one of _my_ slaves?!"

Bakura's eyes narrowed. One of his slaves? The midget had been his _only_ slave. Yami had been satisfied with servants. He had always said the idea of personal slaves was barbaric! "Because you're just like **him!**" A ghostly-white finger was thrown in Marik's direction. "You willingly let that pipsqueak manipulate you into falling in _love_!" The word 'love' was spat out with the utmost disgust, portraying the way a child would spit out a vile-tasting spoon of medicine.

Portraying the child's ignorance to the good that medicine would bring.

"It's pathetic!" The pale-skinned ruler continued. "You're a demon, a **ruler**, and yet you let yourself fall for an angel? You don't have any honour!"

Lord Yami didn't know what to say. Should he deny the statement? Was the statement even true anymore after all that had happened? He was confused, perhaps even more so when he felt the bubbling of anger growing hastily in his chest.

"And you do?!" The crimson-eyed demon also stood, glaring hatefully. "What honour do you have Bakura? You'd rather live in denial than accept what your slave really is!"

Bakura swiftly grabbed the dagger he left sticking out from the table, manoeuvring the object in his hand for an accurate throw if he so wished to. The action caught Yami's attention immediately. It was obvious that Bakura's mood was quickly becoming unstable. His sibling's anger had never been something that he or Marik had been able to control, and when pushed hard enough, Bakura could become dangerous even to them.

"Bakura, calm down!" Marik tried but Bakura paid him no heed.

"I told you to shut up about-!"

Bakura's blood boiling rant was cut short when the dining hall doors swung open, a disgruntled Mokuba standing below the wide door fame.

"Mokuba, whatever it is this isn't the time." Seto spoke in his usual 'I know better' brotherly tone.

Completely ignoring his brother's request Mokuba instead walked straight up to Lord Yami's side. "Today's been stressful. I bet you have a headache." The boy's voice was stoic and calm, completely contradicting the irritated expression on his face.

Lord Yami raised a brow at the oddly spoken words. "Today's not the time for this Mokuba. I'll deal with your potions later."

Mokuba didn't budge. "But do you have a headache?"

The spiky-haired demon gave an annoyed sigh and an impatient roll of his crimson-coloured orbs. "Yes, and I'm sure it will still be there for you tomorrow to treat."

The youngest Kaiba then held out a small glass bottle for the ruler to take. "Drink it."

"Mokuba, I just said-"

"I won't leave until you've drank it."

It was a battle of wills, one that Yami just couldn't put up the fight to win. He found himself just not caring anymore. So with a grimace of defeat the eldest ruler took the bottle from the smaller demon's hand and raised it to his lips.

"But before you do…" Yami paused instantly and lowered the drink, giving the young demon a questioning stare. "…you should know that Ryou, Yugi and Malik helped me with that potion. I used every herb and chemical they suggested."

"You let them into the laboratory?" Seto asked, shock hidden in his voice.

"Yes but-"

"How dare you!" Lord Kaiba yelled and leaned forward in his chair from where he sat at the head of the table. "Mokuba, how many times have I told you not to let anyone in there? They must have gotten those potions from the laboratory when you weren't looking! Do you know how much damage they caused?"

"I don't care!" Mokuba turned and shouted back, his tone now matching his angered exterior. "I know what they did, but you know what? I don't care! I don't even blame them! Can't you imagine how they must have felt? You were all on a witch hunt for angels and they must have been terrified! To do what they did must have felt like their only option! I don't know why demons and angels have to hate each other, but I for one don't hate _them_." He paused and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Mokuba then turned himself back round to face Yami, look stern and challenging. "I trust them."

Yami's mind was boggled. Thoughts on what he should do next eluded him. As he looked around the room he realised that what Mokuba said had also unnerved the rest of the lords. Bakura had begrudgingly flopped back down into his chair, his head turned to the side while he glared at nothing in particular. Marik was anxiously swaying in his seat, obviously eager to do something that only he knew, and Seto had turned quiet, studying the conversation with an unusual interest.

He raised the potion higher so it was level with his eyes and stared at the green liquid cautiously, trapped in his wondering thoughts. Surely the potion would not harm him? Despite taking another's advice, Mokuba would know what herbs and chemicals were safe to drink? Then again, the demon's previous potions didn't really support that theory… Then that left most of his trust in Yugi. Would Yugi purposely try to poison him? Only hours ago that thought would have been considered unthinkable to him, but now…

Could he really put so much faith in him after all that had happened?

Yami poured the liquid into his mouth, the fluid seeping down his throat…

Almost immediately the migraine lifted.

A tense silence hung in the air as Yami lowered the glass, the effects sinking in.

As like the fist time, it was Seto who spoke first. "It would probably be best to take the conversation to the angels… There are a lot of questions that need answering."

Mokuba grinned.

The blonde demon nodded his head. "Malik-pretty will get scared if he's held in a cell too long."

Bakura stood.

"Bakura?" Lord Yami questioned sharply.

The white-haired fiend gave a roll of his eyes. "Stop standing there like an idiot and lets go get this 'talk' over with."

Agreeing quickly, Yami placed the now empty bottle onto the table, Marik and Seto standing as he did.

"My Lords!"

Everyone's attention was immediately brought to the open doorway. A guard was leaning against the doorframe, panting harshly as he fought to catch his breath.

"Now what?" Bakura snapped irritably, wanting nothing more than to leave.

"F-Forgive me m-my Lords we c-couldn't have known! We ran d-down as soon as soon as we heard the screams, b-but when we did the a-angels-"

"What about them?" Yami pressed. "Enough of this just spit it out!"

Fearfully the guard forced himself to stand straight, taking in a deep breath.

"They're gone."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hell, talk about writers block! This took me way too long to do… Em, hi everyone? Yeah, I'm sure a lot of you are hating me right now, I know I need to update faster, but it's hard for me. With everything that's going on along with the long length of these chapters… Yeah, well I'm not going to prattle on. Unless you want to here about exams and stuff (which I'm sure you don't) then it's really not that interesting.

So what do you all think of the chapter? I feel like scrapping it… but then again I feel like scrapping most of these chapters. Not as exciting as the previous one, but its gave the ground for a nice plot development. Ack, Ryou and Yugi are such girls sometimes! I guess they're cute like that though? Next chapter's very… energetic. Heh, You'll understand what I mean later!

Forgive me for any typos, it's almost midnight I've got a huge headache (I wish Mokuba's potion was real…) and I just wanted to get this posted and out of the way. Maybe I'll be able to write better in the next chapter… I think those Rymond Carver stories I've been reading has effected my writing style a little, and not in a good way…

…Review?


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

He should have known that running was a stupid idea. Why the heck did he listen to Malik? Malik _never_ had good ideas.

It had only been a matter of time before the guards found him. Though he had hoped that he would have at least made it out of the castle before problems arose, he now realised how naïve that wishful thinking had been. As soon as Jounouchi left the dungeons he was grabbed by a three passing demons, all equipped with heavy looking armoury and nasty looking weapons hanging from their belts. Not that Jounouchi stepped out into a hallway willy-nilly of course. The castle just happened to be more complicated than he first anticipated. So eventually, bad luck returning as always, a wrong turn was taken, a noise _may_ have been made, a scuffle occurred…

…and he ended up here.

Jounouchi tugged for the seventeenth time that minute on the shackles enclosed around his wrists, squirming uncomfortably on the hard, wooden chair he sat on. Beside him two demons stood, neither saying a word, both watching the angel carefully, confining him to only the smallest of movements before he was snapped at and ordered to 'stop struggling'. A rectangular table was placed in front of him along with another wooden chair. Keeping him imprisoned in this annoying situation were four, dull grey walls making up a very small, almost claustrophobic, room, with no windows.

What was this? An interrogation room?

He was surprised there wasn't a huge two-way mirror facing him…

The sound of a door opening and closing came from behind and Jounouchi began to turn his head out of pure curiosity, but the demon on his right quickly stopped the action by sending a warning swipe to his head. So, after letting out an impatient and frustrated sigh, Jounouchi kept looking forward.

Needless to say Jounouchi was surprised when the tall, blue-eyed demon came into view.

"What the-? Ow! Hey, quit doing that!!"

The heavenly guard was rudely interrupted by another whack to the head, this time from the demon on the left followed by the demon's harshly spoken words of 'be quiet'. The blonde was stuck between hitting the other back and sulking helplessly.

"You may leave now."

For a moment Jounouchi thought the stone-faced demon was talking to him, and hell, if he was allowed to leave this place then he'd run out that door without so much as a glance back!

"Are you sure Lord Kaiba?" One guard asked.

…Oh.

"Yes. Now leave. I don't like to repeat myself."

Jounouchi watched with slight envy as the two guards left, the view of their backs as they walked through the door almost mocking.

Slowly and calmly the demon took the seat across from the angel, watching him like he was some sort of mysterious enigma. It was unnerving, and Jounouchi found himself getting irritated by the look.

"Do you think this is funny?"

The guard was confused by the question. "Bein' forced into shackles and thrown into a tiny room? No, not at all."

The angel was happy to see the demon's expression change, even if it was to anger. This 'Kaiba' person didn't seem to show many emotions anyway, so for him to see anger was surely an achievement in itself.

"I'm not here to play games with you, angel."

"Why are you here? Shouldn't I have been thrown in a cell by now?" Or worse… "Killed even?" Even Jounouchi realised how… odd he was acting right now. Even if his hands were restrained he should have been clobbering this guy by now, not back-chatting him. It wasn't his style.

"Would you prefer that?" Seto replied in a serious, if not a hostile, tone of voice.

"Would you stop askin' stupid questions?" Jounouchi replied in a just as unpleasant, gruff tone.

Something dangerous flashed before the demon's eyes, but before the angel could identify what the strange occurrence was, the demon had already managed to recompose himself.

Lord Kaiba leaned back in his chair, watching the other with cold, unmoving eyes. "You are an interesting creature indeed…"

The statement caught the angel off-guard and he blinked dumbly. "Em…"

"…Not very intelligent though."

"Hey!" Jounouchi cried insulted. "I got into Hell didn't I? You demons are the stupid ones. If you were smart then I probably wouldn't have been able to get this far, _Kaiba_." He pronounced the other's name heavily, hoping that his disrespectful tone and the missing 'Lord' reference would piss the demon off.

"Is that so? From what I was told you were found wondering the wasteland aimlessly. Surely, if you had so much as the tiniest hint of intelligence you would know where you were going, _mutt_." The Lord replied back passively, mimicking the angel's tone to the 'harmless' nickname.

"I knew exactly where I was going, bastard!" Jounouchi snapped back angrily, the tactic he had been using to hopefully anger the other seeming to have been reversed on himself. "I came here to find that plant, and I did find it! I had it until you, you stupid prick, took it off me!"

Seto rolled his eyes. "Ah yes, that weed you stole after saying it had 'magical healing powers'."

Furiously the angel stood from his chair, making himself higher so he could glare down at the spell caster. "Don't mock me!" he continued to yell. "I thought my friends were diein'! I thought that I _needed_ that plant!"

Lord Kaiba also stood from his chair but in a far more composed fashion to the angel, and raised a brow. "And that's all you came down here for?"

"Yes, dammit! But who gives a shit now? I don't even know what's going on! I-" The guard stopped himself abruptly once noticing the odd look he was receiving from the other.

Once noticing that that familiar fluttering of his heart had started up in his chest again...

"Q-Quit staring at me, demon!" Jounouchi snapped, horrified with himself when he started to feel his face turning warm. He didn't know what this guy's problem was, but he'd be damned if he let it turn into his problem as well!

The corner of the demon's lips twitched slightly. "I believe you."

"Wha- Hmp!!" The angel hadn't been able to get so much as one word out. As soon as his mouth had opened the demon had done something utterly dumbfounding. He had grabbed for the chain attached to Jounouchi's shackles and pulling him forward, causing the blondes hips to crash painfully into the tables edge.

Then the demon had pressed their lips together.

It only lasted a couple of seconds and Jounouchi was given absolutely no time to react. There was a skim of a tongue, a scrape of white teeth, and then the guard was pushed away again, as though it was all some kind of gigantic tease or experiment.

"Very interesting," the harasser replied with a hint of satisfaction, once again calmly sitting down in his chair.

The angel could only watch him dumbly as he began to ramble. "What did… why did… what… the fuck…?"

"Your friends are pretty much in the clear," Seto continued as though nothing had happened. "You however are not. You weren't brought to Hell, you came by choice. I doubt that herbs will count as much as an excuse unless we go into this with more detail. However the rulers don't seem to care about that at all anymore and I can imagine that the story would be very boring to listen to."

"…Wha…?"

"I need you to tell me what happened in the dungeons."

Jounouchi didn't know if he'd finally lost it due to absolutely _nothing _making sense anymore, or if the demon across from him had cast some sort of spell to make both his mind and body bend to his will.

Whatever the reason Jounouchi found himself doing exactly what he was told.

"I didn't really know what was happening at first…"

* * *

The echo of colliding blades rang throughout the room like the potent thunder of a storm, the sound being overwhelming, frightening and powerful. The humid air that would seek the disaster out and compel it to continue, acting much like the tense atmosphere being emitted now. The force of fists throwing a punching bag back with astonishing power, mimicked the way a hurricane's wind would pull and throw a tree from its roots.

And then the silence, evident even with the noise surrounding the individuals like a thick, suffocating blanket, brought forth the eye of the storm, trapped and unmoving within each of the fighters troubled minds.

Marik and Yami stood at the left end of the training hall, each holding a sword in their hands whilst they fought recklessly and with clumsy movements. When one thrust their blade forward the other would scarcely move, wouldn't even attempt to block it, and when one did dodge their footwork was inelegant and inept.

The side of Marik's sword swung for Yami's forearm and the eldest brother jumped back, narrowly avoiding his arm being amputated from the elbow but not far enough to avoid the tip of the blade nicking his skin, creating a small cut. Though they both held minor injuries of tiny scrapes and small bruisers, there were many of them, something that neither brother was used to getting. That wasn't to say that petty injuries weren't expected, both were rather strong after all, but not _this_ many, and it was only when the cut Marik inflicted began to sting did Yami snap out of his indifferent state. He realised that if they carried on like this it would only be a matter of time before one of them received an injury more life-threatening.

"Stop."

Lord Marik stopped mid-swing at his sibling's command, his eyes losing the hazy mist that once swirled in his purple depths while he sword sparred with Yami. "What?"

"It's ridiculous." Yami said tiredly, dropping his weapon. "Neither of us are concentrating. We'll end up accidentally killing each other."

Agreeing, Marik lowered his sword. "I can't stop thinking about Malik-pretty..."

The way Marik openly admitted his worry for the bronze angel struck Yami's heart. His younger brother's concern was presented clearly on his face, but perhaps it was shown most obviously through his eyes. Marik's nature had always been similar to that of a child. For years Yami had thought Marik would grow out of it, but he never had. However, that wasn't to say that Marik was innocent, on the contrary, Marik was nearly, perhaps not quite, but _nearly_, as twisted as Bakura. His eyes though… his eyes had always held something _close_ to innocence, an innocence that he and Bakura had left behind a long time ago. To see that crushed under the weight of sorrow and anxiety was quite… heartbreaking really.

"…You really love him, don't you, Marik?" It wasn't a questing exactly. The answer was as clear as day but… Yami just couldn't help it.

"Yes." The reply was given immediately. "I love Malik-pretty more than anything."

"But he's an angel," Yami stated quietly in a very obvious way.

"It doesn't matter…" Marik stated just as quietly back. "It surprised me, but it doesn't matter. He's still my Malik-pretty. He's still my kitten…" He smiled then, sad though it was. "Even if I'm not allowed to call him that anymore… I love him. I've loved Malik-pretty from the very first moment I saw him on earth. Nothing's changed… it never will."

What Yami found frightening about Marik's heartfelt little speech, was the sheer level of understanding he got from it. It was exactly the same. Marik saw nothing wrong with it, and the first time he saw Yugi… Was it really ok to…?

"You're both disgusting." The lashed out comment got the brothers attention instantly, and both turned to face the youngest ruler who was still pounding away at the punching bag, not even looking at the ones he was talking to. "Really, you both make me want to vomit."

There had been a reason why neither Yami nor Marik had been sparring with Bakura. It was when Bakura was angry that he was at his most dangerous. When angered Bakura was known to lose all self-control. It was never about pleasure, never about punishment, it was just about destroying something… and the way he would destroy that 'something' would show Bakura in a peak of insanity. It was a traumatizing thing to witness, and if you were on the receiving end of it… well there were no words to describe it.

When Bakura had agreed to talk with the angels he had calmed down some-what, but when the guard had told them that the angels had gone missing again it had only refuelled his anger. To spar with Bakura now would be like Yami and Marik giving the thumbs up to their executioner.

"We're not bothering you, Bakura. Leave us be," Yami replied calmly, hoping to stop a new argument from arising.

"Oh, but you _are_ bothering me," Bakura spat back. "You should stop talking about your wretched _love_ confessions and instead begin thinking about how you're going to punish them!"

A deep frown spread across Marik's face. "I'm not going to hurt Malik-pretty!"

Yami nodded at the blonde demon's words. "There isn't any reason to. We don't know what happened to them yet."

A most mocking smirk crept onto the pale fiend's face. "Oh, I see. You both think that your little slaves were kidnapped, don't you? How foolish." Here Bakura made an exceptionably hard punch to the bag. "A demon has no reason to kidnap an angel, kill it yes, but kidnap it, no. Your little pets ran away again."

"The cell doors were found open." Yami argued. "The angels couldn't have opened the doors themselves, they didn't have a key. Somebody obviously knocked out the guards and took them."

"_Obviously_," Bakura mimicked in a sarcastic tone, choosing to momentarily pause in his poundings in favour of turning to look at Yami. "Are you forgetting how your own slave picked a lock right in front of you in the entrance hall only hours ago? The guards checked for potions and such when they caught them, but I bet you they were too ignorant to check for something as small as a hairpin concealed in their hair!" He then turned back to his punching bag. "They ran away." Another hard punch. "And when I get Ryou back…" The bag shook violently from another whack. "…I'm going to make sure he's _unable_ to run away again."

"…I actually feel sorry for your slave."

Bakura stopped suddenly and turned to glare at the crimsoned-eyed ruler. "What was that?"

"You're clearly obsessed with him," Yami continued.

"Of course he is," Marik suddenly piped up. "Bakura likes Mini-Kura just as much as I like Malik-pretty!"

"W-What?!" Bakura snapped, the little colour that was on his face seeming to have been drained completely at the statement.

"Well you are treating this slave most peculiarly." Yami gained a smirk of his own. "You don't like it when he's out of your sight for a mere second. You've never cared what your previous slaves were doing so long as they ended up in your bed at night and continued with their chores. Now that I think about it, have you even made Ryou do any work? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you actually enjoyed Ryou's company in more ways than you're willing to admit."

"Fuck the both of you!" Bakura yelled furiously, abandoning his training and instead stomping towards the door.

"Bakura, wait!" Marik shouted after him. "Where are you going?"

"To do something that's actually _worth_ my time!" he answered snidely without looking back, slamming the door behind him as he left.

Yami sighed, the smirk having quickly left his face. Taunting his little brother could only take his mind off of Yugi for so long. "I'm going to see how far Seto has got with Katsuya."

Marik didn't say anything and so like Bakura Yami left, only in a much more civilised manner.

Alone, the tanned-ruler dropped his sword and slowly turned towards the window, his eyes once again returning to their hazy, sorrowful state.

"Malik-pretty…" he murmured sadly, his thoughts uniting into a stream of regrets and worries as he began to ponder. If he were to leave the castle, go look for Malik-pretty now and perhaps find him… would his pretty angel just run again? If Malik-pretty were to command him to leave so he could go home… would he be able to obey? All he wanted was to make Malik-pretty happy. That's all he had ever wanted since he first laid eyes upon him.

And once he realised this, _truly_ realised it, the answers came to him all at once in a bitter, overpowering wave.

It was a selfish thought, Marik knew, but in that moment he couldn't help but wish he had meant more to his Malik-pretty.

"So you were thinking about me."

Despite his depressing thoughts, once that voice that had cut through the silent air Marik had immediately been elated, had been brought to a level of such utter delight that the thoughts could have been dismissed altogether even.

Quickly the demon spun round to look behind himself, hope and excitement threatening to burst from his chest when seeing the one who stood there. "Malik-pretty!" The thought of where Malik had appeared from didn't occur to Marik, nor did the question of how Malik managed to sneak into the room without him noticing. It was the idea that his precious angel had returned to him, safe and unharmed, that blocked all other thoughts from his mind.

As expected Marik made a move to run to the angel, to pull him into his arms and hug him, perhaps even kiss him if he felt daring enough, and not just once.

"Funny."

It was just one word but that word managed to stop the demon in his tracks. The tone held no humour and instead sounded computerised, completely dead to the world.

It was that one word that told Marik something was horribly wrong.

Malik stood at the opposite end of the training hall, creating a fair distance between him and the demon that admired him so. He stood straight with his arms hanging lax by his sides and his head slightly bowed, the hair that would usually fall over his forehead choosing instead to fall over his eyes. Behind him a wall of weaponry loomed, some of Marik's own weapons having been innocently hung in their appropriate places.

"Malik-pretty…?" Marik trailed off in his worry.

Malik's head lifted then, and only then was Marik able to take notice of his angel's eyes. Gone was the beauty of Malik's lilac irises. In their place was darkness that seemed to stretch and cover Malik's sight completely.

"Funny," Malik repeated. "because I was just thinking of you too."

And Marik was confused when the angel reached behind himself to grab his favourite axe, continuing to lift it from the wall with ease.

"I… I don't understand. Malik-pretty?"

And all the while Malik stared at Marik with those horrifying, blind eyes.

* * *

Fools, the lot of them. They were obviously incapable of doing the most simplest of things!

"I-Is there a problem, Lord Bakura?"

Could there have possibly been a stupider question to ask?

After the irritating conversation with his brothers Bakura had angrily made his way outside, intent on doing something productive with his time. He had ignored the frightened stares of servants as he marched down the hallways of the castle, ignored the looks of horror and confusion from the demons he happened to pass while making his way to the gates. He had even managed, despite his ill-tempered mood, to ignore the nervous, incompetent glances of the guard who was _supposed_ to have all of this mess under control.

But what Bakura _couldn't _ignore was the pure idiocy the guards, the people who were trusted to find the angels, were displaying to him now.

"Why yes, actually, there is."

Bakura had passed through the gates of Hell to step just outside of his kingdom, a mere stride to the guard who stood in wasteland territory. At first Bakura had seen nothing to complain about, but then he had took a closer look at the sky above him.

"Why is there no one searching the North end of Hell?" Bakura asked with strained displeasure.

Above him the tiny black dots of demons could be seen, easily viewable due to the lack of high buildings and foliage, though it was obvious that the demons were a good few miles away. This was correct. The rulers had told them to search the area in hopes of finding the missing angels. After all, the angels hadn't been missing long enough to get very far. It was right to assume that they hadn't been able to reached the portal already, that is if escape had been part of the slaves plan of course. The problem was that those 'black dots' could only be seen in the southern skies.

"W-Well," the guard started rather shakily and coughed in an attempt to retrieve his voice. "We thought that you wouldn't like us to bother. No one can survive the northern atmosphere, the heat would dehydrate them too quickly. If they had gone that way they'd be dead by now, and that's how you wanted them to be in the end anyway, right? So there wouldn't be any point."

Ryou… dead? That comment touched a part of Bakura that he himself didn't know to exist. However, this was Bakura, and Bakura would allow only one emotion to act out such a strong, confusing reaction, and that emotion was anger.

The guard yelped as he was grabbed and slammed against the outer wall of the kingdom.

"Then you should be looking for the bodies!" Bakura seethed as he glared down at the frightened demon before him. "Did we not tell you to have the guards such the entire area?!"

The guard knew that to disagree with the ruler would be a very stupid thing to do. "Y-Yes, Lord B-Bakura! Forgive me! I'll h-have the guards search the north end of H-Hell as s-soon as they return from the south!"

That would take hours…

With a growl, Bakura threw the demon to the floor and turned, his long, leathered wings unfolding from his back until they were fully spread.

The guard scrambled up from the floor. "Lord Bakura? Where are you--?" The ruler turned his head, and upon seeing the sharp glare he received the guard quickly shut his mouth. "I-I'll just wait f-for the others to return…"

With a satisfied grunt and a flap of his wings Bakura took to the air, soon gliding on the air currents as he travelled further and further away from demon civilisation.

"Ryou's not dead." Bakura whispered sternly to himself as he flew towards the North, eyes constantly darting below himself to keep an eye on the desert-like floor.

If the angels had come this way it most likely meant that they had gotten lost when looking for the portal to the human world. It would be an escape attempted gone hopelessly wrong. It annoyed Bakura really. When would Ryou learn that running away just didn't work? The first time Ryou ran from him, Bakura had made him swear not to do it again. Heck, he had held a knife to the boy's throat just to prove how serious he was! Since then Ryou had disappeared from him, what? Three more times?! It was infuriating! It was those stupid friends of his. They were putting ridiculous ideas into his slave's head, Bakura knew. Probably the work of that disobedient blonde slave Marik was so fond of.

Yes, Ryou was fine. He was just lost somewhere. He probably hadn't even come this way. He'd be in the south, away from the worst of the heat and realising just how stupid he had been to defying his master again.

Ten minutes into the North and Bakura was already beginning to feel the effects of the heat. Though it was warm no matter where a demon went in Hell, they had still managed to adapted to the temperature well, as would any creature after living in an environment for so long. Still, there were places in the rulers domain that were more inhabitable than others. The south for instance was cooler, allowing some plants to grow, though never many and never anything as impressive or large as trees. It also meant that a few animals could live in the area, mostly reptiles like snakes and lizards. This also meant that most of the demons food needed to be imported from the human world, though snakes and lizards weren't completely off the menu at times…

Further north however the atmosphere was practically unliveable. The temperature would increase the more you advanced to the point where it would become unbearable. Nothing was known to survive there.

"Dammit Ryou, you better not be running around he--"

Suddenly Bakura spotted something white among the dirt. Something with beautifully long, ivory hair and feathered wings. Something that looked to be wounded. Something that laid deathly still, faced down.

The heat was nothing compared to the grip of cold fear that now grabbed at Bakura's heart.

* * *

"Afternoon, Lord Yami."

The eldest ruler had left the training hall in favour of finding Seto. He had hoped that the demon had finished his interrogation with the angel Katsuya by now, but once he had reached the interrogation room he had sadly been corrected. The door was still closed and the two guards were still standing on either side, which obviously meant that Seto was still occupied with getting information out of the other.

Lord Yami gave a nod to the guard that had spoke. "Lord Kaiba hasn't finished with the angel yet I see."

"No my Lord, not yet," the guard answered humbly. "Would you like one of us to inform you when Lord Kaiba is done?"

Yami shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Lord Kaiba knows to come straight to me once he has finished."

For a moment the ruler considered joining Seto with the questioning. They were taking longer than Yami would like after all… but then the thought was quickly dismissed. Yami hadn't been able to get the angel to talk when he was presented to him and his brothers in the entrance hall. In fact the only one who had managed to get Katsuya to utter a single word was Seto. Yami's help would probably only become a nuisance for the other Lord.

"Just make sure you handle the angel appropriately when the interrogation is over. It would be unwise to let this one go missing as well."

"Yes sir."

Without another word Yami left, turning his back on the two guards and instead taking another route to nowhere in particular. Maybe he should return to the training hall? No, what would be the point in that? He wouldn't be training. All he would do is stand there and get lost in his thoughts of Yugi.

…Yugi…

Lord Yami sighed.

This was all such a mess. Angel or not, Yami simply couldn't hate the small boy, only worry. Where was Yugi now? Hiding somewhere in the wasteland or being held captive by a merciless kidnapper? A big part of him hoped that he had ran away. The idea that someone was terrifying or hurting Yugi was unacceptable. Though if Yugi had ran way, gotten lost in the wasteland with the search party still unable to find him…

No. He wouldn't think like that. They would find the angels, talk, and get everything sorted out. Yugi would have nothing to do with--

A sound came from further down the hall Yami happened to be taking. The demon immediately froze.

What… What was that? Crying?

After pausing for a moment to debate with himself on what to do next, he eventually decided on following the sound, curiously getting the better of him. He treaded carefully, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible to not scare the souse of the crying off and to also make sure he could hear the noise clearly. As he continued the crying turned louder, assuring the demon that he was getting closer to the sound, obviously heading the right way.

Surprisingly Yami found himself coming to a stop before his own chamber door.

The idea that suddenly found itself in Yami's head would have been seen as absurd to those who may have known what he was thinking. The castle had been searched thoroughly already, head to toe, inside and out…

…and yet, as impossible as the idea seemed, Yami just couldn't help but hope that…

"Yugi?!"

It was as though he was on autopilot as his limbs moved without his mind's consent, pure adrenaline and misguided hope easily overpowering common sense as he gripped the knob and pulled open the door…

* * *

**--**(Flashback)**-- **

A young child of about seven years was tossing and turning in a small, feeble bed. A sheet coloured a dismal brown, one which had got that way due to long use and lack of hygienic care, laid loosely across his body. Surrounding him was a dreary looking room, bare of everything except for the bed he laid in.

After a few moments the child stopped his tossing and turned still. Eyes once screwed tightly shut suddenly opened, and two large, mauve-coloured eyes revealed themselves from under thick, black lashes.

Malik couldn't sleep. How could he when Isis hadn't come to tuck him in yet? Not that he _wanted_ her to. Only babies would want their sister to get them ready for bed. It was just that Isis would always _insist _ontucking him in at night. She would always _insist_ on kissing his forehead, _insist_ on bringing the covers up to his chin and always _insist_ on whispering a quick 'goodnight' and 'I love you'. He couldn't help it if he unknowingly got used to it.

It wasn't his fault…

…Where was Isis?

Malik's eyes darted around the room worriedly and he began fidgeting under the blanket. This wasn't the first time his sister hadn't shown up to wish him goodnight. But those times had got rarer and rarer, and Malik had just assumed that… Had father decided to see her tonight?

The boy slowly sat up, the thin sheet falling as he looked towards his bedroom door.

Malik didn't like his father. He was always shouting and calling him and Isis horrible names. The last time father visited Isis during bedtime Malik had found bruises on her arms and legs. He had asked Isis where the bruises had came from and in reply Isis had said she'd been clumsy and tripped. Malik knew she was lying though. How do you get so many bruises from tripping? He decided that father must have done it. Who else?

Taking a deep breath in a naïve attempted to gain courage, Malik pushed the blanket away and stood from his bed, hesitantly making his way to the door.

Malik didn't want his big sister getting hurt again…

He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door in one fluid movement. If he did it slowly the door would have creaked and father would have heard. A step was taken into the hallway, and then another, and another, and before Malik knew it he was stood outside Isis's door.

"Please father… not tonight."

"Not tonight? Then perhaps this time I should go see Malik. He may not be as pleasurable to touch as you are, my dear, but I'm-"

"No! Anything but that!"

"…Good."

The innocent young boy could hear both the voices of the man he despised and the girl he cherished become inaudible. Muffled groans and whimpers were coming out in forms that Malik was just too young to truly understand.

But Malik did understand that it was _wrong_.

He had to do something! He had to stop it! He had to open the door and _stop it… _but he was scared… and never before had he felt so ashamed because of it, ashamed and frightened to the point where he was finding it hard not to cry.

It was his sister's cry that pushed him over the edge, that pushed him to fight back the tears, be brave and to come his sibling's rescue.

Once Malik pushed opened the door he didn't understand what he was witnessing. He didn't quite understand why Isis was pinned underneath his father's body or why so much of her clothing was no longer on her body, nor did he understand why his father's crotch was pressed so closely to hers.

He didn't understand that he was witnessing rape.

He just understood that it was wrong.

--(End Flashback)--

"Malik-pretty, what's wrong? What's happening?"

Marik watched the angel carefully when its attention became more focussed on the axe, the utter bewilderment becoming apparent on his face at the action. He watched as his Malik-pretty ignored his questions completely, watched as the one he loved brought the weapon close to his being and into both hands. He stood absolutely still when those dark eyes flickered back up to his own, and Marik felt it clearly then, when the entire atmosphere changed into something cold and tense.

It was something Marik found himself able to read from past experiences, and yet still left him confused… Regardless, the ruler knew what was coming….

…and so he moved quickly when his smaller twin gained a firmer grip of the axe's handle, hurrying to lift his heavy sword from the floor.

A pained gasp was brought forth from Marik's mouth before he could even bring his weapon high enough to defend himself. Once he looked down the reason for his pain became apparent, the fresh cut in his shirt and skin standing out like a sudden shark fin poking out from the water.

The Lord stumbled and rushed to check the other's position, his head snapping up and turning side to side in a desperate rush. Immediately the angel was spotted in front of him, charging at him to give another blow, and the ruler only had mere milliseconds before the axe swung for him again, scarcely having enough time to block the attack. How had Malik done that? The angel had moved with such a speed that even Marik was struggling to keep up with his movements. It seemed… unnatural. Had his Malik-pretty always been this strong?

"Malik-pretty, stop this!"

The angel's face was _so_ close. Under normal circumstances Marik would have been tempted to reach out and caress those soft cheeks, to stroke that beautiful mane of golden hair and touch that delicate skin with his own tender lips. He would have been overjoyed by the nonexistent fear in his Malik-pretty's eyes, happy and content with the lack of anger, trembling and stuttering that he was almost always known to receive when stood so near to the one he loved so deeply.

These weren't normal circumstances however, and instead of touching and kissing the one before him, he wanted nothing more than the angel to insult him, to scream and yell and call him an idiot. He just wanted something, _anything _that would tell him that his angel was ok. That Malik-pretty was still _his _Malik-pretty.

Because the way he was acting now…

"Please! Please Malik-pretty, calm down! Tell me what's wrong! Tell me so I can fix it!" Marik didn't know what else to say. He just wanted to get rid of whatever pain the angel was suffering from.

For whatever reason the angel flinched, and flicker of emotion past through those dull eyes.

--Flashback--

"Calm down Malik, nothing's wrong… Please, please go back to your room, o-ok?"

The weak, feeble voice of his sister barely reached Malik's ears as he stood in the doorway, frozen stiff.

"I-I…" He didn't know what to do, what to say. He forgot how to act, how to respond, how to move… He felt sick, but he didn't know why, he didn't even know if this was _normal…_The only thing he knew, the only thing he was _sure_ about, was the image of his sister being pinned below his father, hips and bodies forced so close together...

"Malik!" his father's voice boomed happily. "Come to join us have you?"

"W-What?" Malik stuttered as he was thrown back into hellish reality. "No! I-"

"Brother," Isis interrupted gently, voice slightly strained. "Go back to your room and… and we'll talk. I promise. I'll come tuck you in."

"Isis…" the younger whispered unsurely, eyes flicking to and fro from her and their father.

The older sibling put on a broad smile, fake and utterly heartbreaking. Her eyes were so pleading, so _desperate_, that Malik found himself wanting to look away. "I promise."

It _hurt_ to look into those eyes.

--End Flashback--

"Stop this Malik-pretty, and… and we'll talk. We'll sort all of this out! I promise! I know you're angry! You have every right to be after what happened!" The weapons were tightly locked, Marik was having trouble keeping his balance and keeping his strength as equally high as his angel's. The standstill would soon be over. "I may not gain your forgiveness, but at least let me explain!" He was pleading now. "I won't hurt you Malik-pretty!" His eyes were _pleading_. "I promise!"

Like a small stone making contact with glass, a crack in Malik's neutral expression formed.

Those eyes, even the way he spoke…

The pressure Malik was forcing onto his opponent was removed as he stepped back, taking the axe with him. The angel single-handedly threw the heavy weapon off to the sideline, standing unarmed and vulnerable in the demon's presence.

Lowering his sword, Lord Marik smiled. "Thank you Mali…"

The demon Lord trailed off in confusion as he watched a ring, blacker than night itself, form over the angel's head, appearing as though from nowhere.

A halo? Marik knew very little of such an object, but as far as he was aware, angels wore the item like a human would wear a piece of jewellery. It was for decoration. They were something ancient, traditional of an angel's formal outfit along with the flowing white robes equipped with gold trimmings to match the _gold _halo. Marik had never heard of a black halo before…

A pure white light flashed, taking the demon by surprise and he was forced to briefly look away, his wings spread from his back and curved slightly to shield his defenceless eyes. Quickly the light dimmed, and just as quick Marik turned back to see what had happened, straightening his wings in the process so he could see.

A scream was brought forth from the Lord's mouth before he knew what had happened, the pain in his right wing close to unbearable.

Malik stood next to him in a lunging position, face twisted with the deadly sin of wrath, of _anger_. In his hands a white sword was held, glowing softly and pulsing heavily of white magic.

With that sword demon flesh was pieced and pain was embedded, the weapon sitting comfortably through thick tissue and staying their, after being plunged through the ruler's wing. The plunging itself had yet to process through Marik's mind, the pain was enough to conquer anyone's train of thought, but when he felt that sword of light move he found himself knowing exactly where the weapon was lodged.

Malik tore the thick, leathery skin as easily as scissors would cut through paper, continuing in a straight line until the sword broke free, having no more skin or hollow bone in its way to cut through.

Marik's scream grew higher in pitch, the edges of the freshly sliced wound sizzling as the remnants of pure magic burned in the aftermath. His free hand flew to the back of his right shoulder, where the pain travelled past to strike the very bottom of his spine.

"Just shut up!" Malik yelled, voice no longer dead in tone. "You have no right, Marik! You'll pay for trying to trick me! I'll make you pay for _everything_ you did!"

Twisting the blade so the flat side was now faced forwards, Malik swung his sword at the demons chest and immediately the Lord was sent crashing onto his back, the blood gushing from his wing now pooling on the floor to join the blood that dripped from his chest.

Marik's sword was sent flying from his hand. "Malik-pretty, stop!" Marik stifled his screams and forced words from mouth instead.

Furiously, Malik moved the sword he was holding with both hands. He then placed his foot on the demon's neck.

--Flashback--

"Well? If you're not here to join, listen to your sister and just fuck off." The man sounded annoyed now.

Again Malik shook his head, this time more fiercely than before. "Get off her!"

His father scowled, the grip on his daughter turning tighter due to pure frustration. Isis held back her pained whimper and merely flinched. "Oh? Growing a backbone now are you?" The scowl switched to a smirk. "Then make me, boy!"

The fear and anxiety turned into adrenaline. With courage and rage now taking the place of fear from the unknown, Malik reached to the small table by the doorway, his sister's sewing equipment laid neatly on the surface. His family was quite poor, and so instead of buying new clothes, Isis would often try to repair or alter his or his fathers clothes herself in order to save money. With no money going to waist however, Isis could only make do with a small amount of cheap thread, a small needle and a pair of overly large, rusty scissors, scissors which really weren't made for sewing.

But Malik had a different purpose for those scissors, and so he charged forwards.

Isis screamed. "Malik, stop!"

--End Flashback--

"You have no right in asking me to stop," Malik snarled. "You deserve this, demon. You've hurt me, kidnapped me, _raped_ me. Did you think you could get away with it? Did you think my threats were meaningless?!"

The demon's face, now not only contorted in pain, was contorted in puzzlement too. "I… I don't…"

Pressure was added to the ruler's neck, and with a lack of breath, Marik's words were cut short.

"Enough with the 'dumb blonde' act. You can't fool me, bastard. No one's that pathetic." The angel glared down at the wounded body beneath his foot, and, if not for the mask of black covering the boy's eyes, one could have easily imagined them being a fiery red, a colour full of rage and hatred. "The pain you feel now, is _nothing_ compared to the pain you've caused me."

At those words Marik's eyes dulled, the hurt he felt all over his body wiped away along with his bewilderment… and suddenly he couldn't feel anything anymore, anything except the excruciating anguish tearing his heart in two. Was it true? Had he really caused his Malik-pretty so much pain? That wasn't what he had wanted to do, it had _never_ been his intent, and yet Malik-pretty said it with such emotion, such feeling… It had to be true. Somewhere along the line Marik must have made a mistake, must have hurt the angel without knowing it. How could he? How could he hurt the boy so blindly?! Perhaps he did deserve this then. He just wanted to make him happy, after all. He loved Malik-pretty more than life itself.

And he took that term literally.

"Then…" Marik gasped his words pitifully, forcing his sentence out regardless of being choked. "Then kill me… Malik-pretty."

At the request, Malik shifted his position and moved his sword over the ruler's chest.

* * *

--(Flashback)--

"I can smell her perfume, you two-timing bastard!"

"For the last time I don't know what you're talking about! You're imagining things, you stupid woman!"

"Imagining things am I?!"

A small boy with large, cocoa-coloured eyes stood phantom-like by the living room door, stood in clear view and yet going completely unseen. Wisps of ivory hair, as beautiful as newly fallen snow, framed his trouble face.

It was the yelling that had woken him, the yelling of his parents. The yelling that had yet to stop and that was now beginning to hurt his ears. He didn't like it. He _hated_ it when his parents got mad, _hated_ the fact that he couldn't make them feel better no matter how hard he tried.

If they didn't turn quiet soon they would most likely wake Amane up, and Amane would always get so upset during times such as these…

"That's it! I've had enough of this Minoru!"

"Maria, wait!"

The boy quickly shifted out of the way as his mother ran from the room, heading for the front door. His father only just made it into the hallway before the woman slammed the door behind her.

"Dad?"

His father jumped as though startled and turned his head. Once finally noticing his son, the man sighed and bent down onto one knee, clasping the boy firmly by both shoulders. "Ryou…"

"Why did… Where is mum going?"

Minoru was quiet for a moment. "Mum will come back soon, ok? But for now I need you to be strong."

"Strong?" Ryou questioned in a confused manner.

"Yes, Ryou," the man answered without elaborating further. "Can you do that for me?"

Ryou nodded his head.

--(End Flashback)--

Bakura landed with a thud, dust flying as his boots aggressively touched the dirt covered ground. Then, equally as harsh, he fell to his knees.

"Ryou?" His voice was small, hesitant.

No response, and so Bakura promptly jerked his hands forward and grabbed the angel's shoulders, hastily pulling him up and into a sitting position instead of flipping him onto his back so as to not damage his wings. An action he did with little thought.

"Ryou?!" Still nothing. The eyes stayed closed and the face stayed content in a sleep-like expression. "Open your eyes!" Bakura shook him furiously. "Don't you dare disobey me! **Open your goddamned eyes, Ryou!**"

Ryou's body twitched, and though Bakura's grip on his slave's shoulders did not loosen, the shaking did immediately stop. "Master Bakura…?" the chocolate-eyed other replied with slightly drowsy speech.

"Shit, Ryou, you…" At first the demon was thrown into feelings of desperation, of relief… possibly even regret. In the next second he expected emotions of anger and spite to take over. He was getting ready for the screams to crawl up his throat and break free from his mouth, for his threats of punishments to make themselves known.

And yet nothing came.

"Shit," the Lord repeated not knowing what else to say.

As Bakura's eyes roamed over Ryou's body he found that no viewable injuries had been inflicted. The angel still seemed weary however, with his eyes still closed regardless of Bakura's command to open them. The fact that Ryou had become conscious was enough for Bakura to overlook that small, assumed unknown, defiance.

Not wasting anymore time, the ruler began gathering the boy into his arms.

"Master Bakura…"

"Quiet Ryou." He hooked an arm under the seemingly fatigued other's legs and another arm around his back. "You're not well." He lifted the boy from the floor and once again spread his wings.

"…do you…"

"I said quiet!" He simply snapped back at the retaliation and got ready to take to the air. He didn't bother to look down at the individual in his arms.

"…do you like holding me like this? Fragile and broken in your arms…"

Finally Bakura froze, the question sinking in.

"What did you…?" But words were lost once he gazed down at the face that had been staring up at him.

Those eyes… they weren't _Ryou's_ eyes.

"Put me down."

That voice. Never before had he heard a voice so cold and void.

It wasn't _Ryou's_ voice.

"Fuck!"

Bakura yelled in pain, the feeling of something sharp slicing into his skin hurting enough to take him temporarily away from his thoughts of Ryou. Against his will, it was also enough to make him let go of the angel he held.

Bakura raised his left hand, seeing nothing but the deep gash that marked him just below the knuckles. It was only when he took notice of the image past that mark, past the spread fingers, that he saw the angelic figure stood before him, a weapon held in its mitts.

What was that? A knife?

Bakura's eyes widened, both hands flew to pat down his clothes.

One of his daggers were missing.

"I understand you now."

Immediately the demon's head snapped back up to look at the being in front of him.

Bakura's dagger was being balanced on Ryou's finger. The angel was watching it half-heartedly while spinning it. "The swearing, the threats, the relentless beatings you give to others. Your entire personality…" In one swift movement the blade was thrown into the air, expertly caught on his fingertip when it hurtled back down. A trick Bakura had often performed when bored. "I get it. It gives you an air of danger, of dominance. It makes you _strong_."

"Ryou," Bakura started, trying to keep his voice as calm as he possibly could. "That's not yours." Slowly the white-haired ruler moved closer. "It's in your best interest to give it back to me. You'll only hurt yourself…"

"No Bakura."

The demon came to a halt. Just Bakura? What happened to 'master'?

A flash of light caught the young ruler off guard, forcing him to bring his arm up and shield his eyes. Once the light dimmed Bakura once again took in the image of the other, only this time noticing some key changes.

Hovering above Ryou's head was something circular and black, a colour that matched Ryou's polluted eyes perfectly. Where the object had come from was a complete mystery. Bakura knew that Ryou hadn't been holding such a thing, the only thing he held was _his _dagger, so how the black object had appeared was also an abnormality.

Bakura chose not to question it though, not when his attention was still directed so obsessively with that dagger. However, he had every right to be…

Someone armed with a dagger was a dangerous thing in itself, but when the dagger glowed with some sort of foreign, holy white magic… well, that was a whole new level of danger completely, especially when that danger was aimed at a demon.

This time it was Ryou who decided to move closer. "I won't let anyone hurt me anymore."

--(Flashback)--

"Well if it isn't my dear friend, Ryou! How you been, pal?"

"H-Hi Dai…" Ryou replied to the greeting nervously, frowning with worry as the boy Dai, and four others, slowly forced him back until he hit the wall behind him. "How are you?"

"Well actually, Ryou, I'm a little pissed off." The edges of Dai's lips twitched up to create an ugly smile. "Do you want to know why?"

Confused, and still very much anxious, Ryou forced himself to reply, knowing that he didn't really have much of a choice. "No, I'm sorry…"

Dai faked an exasperated sigh. "Oh, but Ryou, you _must_ know!" He faked politeness and shook his head, his wiry, thin dark hair swaying just above his shoulders. "Never mind then. I guess I'll just have to tell you." He slung his arm around Ryou's shoulders in a mockingly friendly way, noting how the frailer boy immediately tensed under his touch and feeling the beginning of a sadistic thrill. "You're jealous, aren't you Ryou?"

"J-Jealous? I don't understand…"

"Well you must be! Why else would you bother us when we're playing with someone else? You're always trying to spoil are fun! Why, just yesterday we were joking around with that Yuki kid when all of a sudden you jump out to put a stop to it!"

"Joking around…?" Ryou's eyes hardened slightly. "You weren't 'joking around' with him! You were hurting him! _Punching_ him!"

"Whatever." Dai brushed the accusation off like it was nothing. "The point is your little stunts are annoying us, and because the cause is obviously a cry out for attention, we've decided to play with you more often."

Ryou's face paled but he did not try to run, though even if he did try he knew that with the arm around his shoulders and the other boys surrounding him he wouldn't get far, he probably wouldn't reach a second step, even.

Dai pushed his face closer to his white-haired victim's, his ugly smile widening. "Isn't that nice?"

The back of Ryou's neck was then grabbed and the top half of his body was pushed downwards, a knee brutally connecting with his stomach.

--(End Flashback)--

Bakura narrowly avoided the punch that was thrown in his face, ducking just in time. He wasn't quick enough however, to dodge the knee that slammed into his stomach straight after.

"R-Ryo--!" But the demon's gasp was cut short as Ryou's elbow struck down on his back, forcing him to crash face first into the dirt, pain racking up and down his body with the impact. The dagger Ryou held followed him down. Thankfully Bakura had enough sense to not just lay there and rolled out of the way just in time.

Bakura snarled and hurriedly got to his feet. "Fuck Ryou, snap out of it! This isn't you! Something's screwing with your head!"

Ryou ignored his reasoning. "Fight back!" he screamed back instead.

The ruler frowned, paused, and then shook his head. "Hell no!"

Anger bloomed unceremoniously onto the angel's once gentle face, the expression looking as out of place as a weed among roses. "Fine."

The angel moved faster than Bakura's eyes could keep track of, and before he knew it the end of sharp steel was plunged into his left shoulder. Agony once again rippled through Bakura's system but he bit back the scream. He instead focussed on Ryou's wrist, timing himself just right as the angel moved to pull the dagger back out.

As Ryou moved to dislodge the weapon from the ruler's body Bakura wasted no time in grabbing the other's wrist, stopping Ryou just before he was able to grab the dagger's handle. With a harsh tug the demon spun the angel round and yanked him to his body, the angel's back now pressed against Bakura's chest with Bakura's arms trapping his own by his sides.

"This won't save you--"

"Listen to me!" Bakura hissed through his teeth, cutting Ryou off sharply. "Someone, most likely an enemy of mine and my brothers, have done something to brainwash you. I don't know who it is that _dared_ to fucking do this, but I will find out and _kill_ them for it." Bakura's grip tightened over Ryou's body. "But first you need to keep still and let me take you back to the castle. You'll be safe there, Ryou. I'll be able to get you back to normal."

Though Bakura couldn't see it, a troubled expression briefly swept across Ryou's face. "Safe?… Normal…" he replied with a whisper before shaking his head, his voice turning once more cold and even. "But Bakura, I _want_ to kill you."

"Don't be stupid," the demon snarled angrily.

"You said enemy," Ryou continued. "Angels are your enemies. How do you know I'm not apart of all this? Perhaps I'm not brainwashed at all."

"You're not apart of this," the ruler growled back as though he took personal offence to the question. "For crying out loud Ryou, your eyes are pitch black! _Something's_ not right! You wouldn't do this!"

"I wouldn't?" Ryou questioned back venomously. "Why, Bakura? Why wouldn't I? Is it so hard to believe that I might be capable of hurting you? That I'm capable of standing up for myself?"

Bakura had had enough. Ryou wasn't listening to him and now he was talking about something that, in Bakura's eyes, had nothing to do with the situation. So, with anger turning to frustration, Bakura reached an arm out and made a grab for the black halo above Ryou's head, common sense telling him that the object most likely had something to do with his slave's current behaviour. If Ryou wouldn't help himself, then Bakura would simply force him to take _his_ help.

A surge of vibrant red engulfed Bakura's hand, sparks flying like electricity as it charged all the way up to his arm. Bakura let out something close to a howl, the shock forcing him to spring his arm back from both surprise and a soon to be lingering stinging sensation.

With Bakura distracted and only one arm now restricting the angel, Ryou saw his opportunity. Ryou threw his head back, his skull colliding with the demon's nose which, as Ryou expected, caused the other arm to leave his being. Now completely free from the demon's clutches, he then twisted round and wrenched the blade from Bakura's shoulder.

Ryou then brought the dagger across in one fluid movement, creating a deep gash on the left side of Bakura's face.

Bakura yelled out again and his hand immediately flew to his face. Ryou watched with disinterest as blood dripped down and in-between his master's fingers, the crimson colour creating a dramatic contrast to his strikingly white skin.

"All my life I've had to deal with people mistreating me," Ryou began, his eyes never leaving the bloody mess in front of him. "I didn't like it, but eventually I learnt to accept it. I realised there was nothing I could do. But when I saw others being treated the same, right in front of me…" The white-winged being paused, turning his dull eyes onto the red liquid that dripped from his newly equipped dagger, raising it high. "I couldn't stand it. I don't know why. They were just unlucky as well I guess… but I had to help them. You see…" He lowered the dagger again and returned his gaze to Bakura. "…I know what it's like. It _hurts_, Bakura. To have your weakness flaunted in front of you over and over again… it breaks you."

"Breaks you?" Bakura repeated, and he lowered his hand slightly to gain a better view of the slave before him, though he found out quickly that blood was clouding the left side of his vision thoroughly. "So what is this, Ryou? Your example to show me how strong you are? You're going to commit murder to prove strength?"

"Why not?" Ryou answered back uncaringly. "It's what you do after all."

There was a moment of silence where Bakura simply tried to take in what Ryou was telling him, and it was a long moment at that. Then finally, after some long deliberation, Bakura laughed. He laughed hard and manically, as though he had lost all sanity. He removed his hand from his face completely and allowed the blood there to flow without restraint. There was so much of it now… both from his face, shoulder and hand.

"So you want to be like me then? Is that it?"

Ryou said nothing.

Bakura's laughter stopped and he gave the other a smirk, as though to challenge the other. "Then do it, Ryou!" The demon fell to his knees and dragged a blood soaked finger across his neck. "Cut me right here!"

Ryou's eyes narrowed.

--(Flashback)--

"You're so pathetic, Ryou," Dai said scornfully.

Ryou laid on the floor, his lip busted, mouth bloody and right eye showing the signs of a huge, nasty looking bruise.

"He can't even take one punch! What a loser," one of Dai's friends yelled out from the sidelines.

Ryou didn't understand. They were still on school grounds, at the back of the school yard and in a secluded area, yes, but surly _someone_ could hear what was going on? He could hear other students talking and playing games on the other side of the wall he was backed against. If he could hear them, why couldn't they hear him and his attackers? Why wouldn't they help?

Dai gave a kick to his victim's ribs. Ryou gasped out, holding back a sob. "There, there, Ryou. I'll help you out," Dai mocked him and then grabbed the ivory-haired boy by the shirt, painfully forcing him onto wobbly feet. "Punch me, Ryou." Dai let go of him and pointed to his own cheek. "Right here. Come on, I dare you. Throw me one of your girly punches!"

Ryou didn't know what to do.

--(End Flashback)--

"I'm waiting, Ryou," Bakura egged on, watching his slave carefully and plastering on an arrogant smirk. "Do it!"

The demon kneeling directly before him, Ryou raised the dagger high and at an angle, his determined black eyes never leaving Bakura's vulnerable throat.

* * *

--(Flashback)--

Yugi had never gone into a graveyard before. There was a Christian church on his route to school that he'd often pass, though. Beside it he would always notice the cemetery. The first time he passed it, he remembered thinking how odd the building looked. It seemed out of place in Japan, what with most people believing in Buddhism.

It was two years later when Yugi found out that his parents followed that same, uncommon religion.

Tears fell from Yugi's eyes, rolled down his small cheeks and dropped from his now worrying pale skin. Gravestones stood all around him in a proud and formal way, cornering the boy like a crowd of noble, but frightening, warriors. Along with this a feeling of detachment came, empty and completely unwelcome.

_Yukka Mutou_

_1963 - 2005_

_A beloved wife and mother._

_May she R.I.P_

_Hajime Mutou_

_1960 - 2005_

_A beloved husband and father._

_May he R.I.P_

It was those two gravestones that frightened him the most, that made the detached feeling so heavy. Yugi thought that seeing the coffins would be the hardest part, but it wasn't any easier once they'd been placed in the ground, covered by many layers of dirt. At that point he realised that it wouldn't get any easier. Not for a long time.

"Poor boy. What will happen to him?"

"Most likely social services will take him in."

So many whispers teased his ears. If he weren't already in so much pain they would have most likely hurt him. He would have thought of it as depressing, if he weren't already so depressed. These people around him were family, and yet he knew nothing about them, couldn't even distinguish between who was an aunt and who was a cousin.

"It's a shame, really. If I had known them better I'm sure I would have took him in."

"Liar. You hate children."

"Yes, well--"

"Yugi!"

The boy jumped as a hand was slammed down onto his shoulder, the voice seeming to boom over the more weaker murmurs. Yugi turned his head and an aged face came into view. "Do you know me?" the elder with spiky hair asked.

Yugi hesitated. "The… The man at the hospital. You… were there… when I found out about the accident…"

The man nodded. "I'm your Grandpa. Sugoroku Mutou." He gave a smile then, and Yugi couldn't help but notice how red his eyes were. He had been crying too? That was probably normal at a funeral, though. That's why he couldn't understand why no one else was weeping. Were he and… Sugoroku… the only ones? "I want you to come live with me… Is that ok?"

Live with…? But he didn't know this man, this Sugoroku Mutou. How could he live with a stranger?

But that was the whole point, wasn't it? He was alone now. He didn't have anyone. No one… "Yes."

No one but this Sugoroku Mutou who claimed to be his Grandpa.

--(End Flashback)--

The door swung open and Yami rushed inside.

"Yugi?" the demon overlord called again.

The chamber was dark, almost pitch black. Curtains had been pulled over closed windows and all candlelight had been extinguished. Through the darkness the shapes of objects were faintly recognised; the bed, the wardrobe, the desk, the drawers… and a person huddled in the corner. Quickly Yami reached for one of his drawers and took out a match, lighting the candle on his desk.

The vivid colours of tri-coloured hair were now easily viewable.

Now certain that the person in the corner was his tender slave, Lord Yami ran to the window close to the boy's being and pulled open the curtains. A flood of slightly dim light rushed into the room. Though it was getting late, it was never truly dark in Hell. There was no sun, nor was there a moon that could be seen, only clouds of colours. Hell's people could only tell night from day in how the colours became dimmer and then more vibrate. When the colours dimmed they dubbed the time as night. When more vibrant the time was seen as day. Most believed that there was some sort of sun behind those clouds, only hidden from view.

"Yugi… Yugi, please don't cry…"

Yugi sat in the far right corner of the room, his face pressed into the knees that were pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped round his legs as he hugged them tight. His frame shook gently as he continued to cry.

The ruler moved in front of the angel and dropped to his knees. "Yugi? Yugi, talk to me." When the boy only continued to cry, Yami couldn't stand it anymore. The demon gently, but firmly, pulled Yugi's arms from his legs. He then hooked his own arm under Yugi's knees and wrapped another arm around his back, lifting the angel from the floor. Lord Yami then moved to the bed and placed the small boy in his lap. "Shhh, everything's ok now. You're safe. You won't go back into the dungeons, Yugi. Everything's fine. I'm here now, no one will hurt you…" The demon held the heavenly being close to him, moving them both in a rocking motion. He couldn't help what he said. Though he had never spoke such words to anyone else, they came out naturally. Besides, despite being an angel, this person in his lap was still Yugi. The same Yugi he had fallen in love with… and was still in love with. Such feelings, even after what had happened, wouldn't go away… and, though it was hard to admit, Yami really didn't want them to…

"They all leave me…" Yugi said finally.

"What?" Yami asked softly.

"You'll leave me too…"

Yami stopped his rocking and tightened his hold. "No, Yugi. I won't leave you."

"You will. They all leave me…"

The ruler moved his hands to the slave's shoulders and pulled back. Yugi's head was bowed with his face in his hands. "Yugi, look at me." The angel didn't move and so the demon carefully tugged the hands away himself. "I swear I'm not going--" Yami lifted the boy's head up and then his heart seemed to stop.

"You will, Lord Yami, everyone does. Only this time…

"Yugi… Yugi, your eyes…!"

Yugi stared straight into the demon's eyes with his own dull black ones, his cheeks dry with no evidence of tears having been shed.

"…it will be with my agreement."

--(Flashback)--

"You seem to be settling in better now."

Yugi and Sugoroku were both sat at the kitchen table, each having a bowl of Miso soup laid before them, both eating happily and indulging in, what presented itself to be, a light conversation.

"Hm!" Yugi made a sound of agreement before swallowing a mouth full of soup. "You've been so kind to me Su-- Grandpa!"

The elder laughed at his grandson's enthusiastic reply. "I'm very glad, Yugi. But if you still feel uncomfortable about calling me Grandpa, then you don't have to. I won't take offence if you prefer calling me Sugoroku."

"But I want to!" Yugi hurried to explain. "I like calling you Grandpa. I've never had one before. It's… It's nice" The boy smiled brightly and lowered his spoon. "I wish I'd have met you sooner, Grandpa."

The older Mutou smiled, however it didn't reach his eyes. "I wish I had met you sooner too, Yugi…"

The boy frowned, noticing that something in his guardian's voice wasn't right. "Why… Why haven't we met before?" he questioned suddenly, the sudden change in atmosphere making him feel compelled to ask. "I don't think my parents ever mentioned you…" Yugi abruptly stopped himself there, suddenly feeling very rude for asking such a question. "I-I mean, if it's too personal--!"

The grandfather held up his hand to cut the younger Mutou off. "No, Yugi. You do deserve an explanation… We're family after all." Sugoroku lowered his hand and gave a sigh, continuing. "Your father's mother, my wife… she died when your father was very young. It hit us both very hard." Sugoroku's tiered eyes lowered, his distant gaze now focussed on his bowl of soup. "Depression comes easily when you're in that kind of situation… and I didn't handle it very well. I'm… I'm ashamed to admit it, but… I took it out on your father. Never deliberately of course! But I would snap at him over such small, stupid things… We ended up fighting a lot. We just… we never fixed it. When he was old enough he left and said he didn't want anything to do with me."

"I-It's ok, Grandpa." Yugi immediately felt guilty for asking. The topic was obviously making the man upset. Yugi didn't want that. "I understand."

His grandfather ignored him. "After that, my son didn't just lose one parent, but both. That was my fault." Suddenly the elderly man looked up, looking at his grandson square in the eye. "I didn't even know I had a grandson. But when I heard about the accident, and then saw you stood over those graves…" Grey hair swayed harshly as Sugoroku shook his head. "I won't let that happen again."

The confession left a troubled air to hover around Yugi's head, and his heart turned heavy. "Grandpa… last week you said you'd be away for the weekend."

"A trip to Egypt. Yes," the other replied quietly.

Yugi nodded. "Y-You said it was something you booked a long time ago. A… vacation."

"Yes. I told you that I once had a career in archaeology. It's… more of a hobby now. I enjoyed going to Egypt."

"…You're going back to work, aren't you? Because of me. Because you have another mouth to feed."

Sugoroku turned silent, hesitant in his answer once he saw the concern in his grandson's face. "Yugi…"

"Grandpa, no!" Yugi immediately protested, his voice pleading. "It's not fair to you! I can get a job! I--"

"No!" Yugi jumped as his Grandpa slammed a fist down onto the table. "No grandson of mine will be robbed of his education!"

Yugi abruptly turned silent, his timid nature not daring him to argue with the firm declaration.

"Now enough of this," Sugoroku said, swiftly changing the topic and moving to put his bowl in the sink. "Why don't we play a game? You like card games, don't you?"

This wasn't what he wanted. The last thing Yugi wanted to do was be a burden to the one and only person that seemed to care about him. Archaeology… that sounded like the kind of work where you travelled at lot…. another thing Yugi didn't want. Though Yugi knew that his reasoning for that one was probably selfish. If his Grandpa was away a lot, then Yugi would be alone… That… That _was _selfish… right? It had to be, since, really, he was only thinking about himself. He was a horrible person. He must be. His Grandpa wanted to take care of him and here Yugi was wanting to argue back just because he might get a little lonely.

He was a horrible, selfish person.

"Yugi? Can you go get the cards?"

The boy was snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes flickering back to his newly found family member by the sink.

"Yes, grandpa."

--(End Flashback)--

The demon's pupils shrank and his eyes stung as he was temporarily blinded, the flash of white, so bright and close to his being, that it robbed him of his vision completely. Thankfully the light vanished as quickly as it appeared, dimming suddenly in just a few seconds.

A scream pierced Yami's ears.

Yami would have then immediately checked Yugi for any injuries, worried that his brief vulnerability could have left the angel open for some kind of attack by, who Yami assumed were, the people that had created the flash to blind him. However, he was distracted from doing this action by the searing pain travelling up both his arms. It was a fierce pain, like his arms had been pulled into the mouth of an inferno, unable to pull them back out again as the flames slowly peeled away at his flesh. It would have been a more merciful experience if someone had simply cut the demon's arms off.

It was only then that the Lord realised the scream piercing his eardrums was coming from himself.

Then, just when the ruler of Hell thought he could take no more, the pain disappeared, though only somewhat. There was still a hot, fiery sensation throbbing in his forearms, and when the demon finally looked down, he understood why.

The skin covering his forearms could be described as nothing less than a morbid mutilation, the skin, so red and blistered, that he fell under the category of a third-degree burn victim. That wasn't all that he saw though, no. What Yami also saw, and perhaps found even more shocking than the hideous injuries, were two small hands, each one gripping him tightly just above the wrist. The demon watched as the hands released him, a flare of white magic gushing into their palms as they retreated.

Yugi just sat there quietly, straddling the other male's lap, his eyes fixated on the slender finger imprints on his master's left arm, the ones that matched the shape of his own fingers perfectly. The shape was so _white_ compared to the mass of red that surrounded it…

"Why…?"

The question was a mere whisper, a fragile gasp that broke off easily from that of an intelligent sentence. It mirrored Yami's broken view of sanity, chilling so. For surely, what Yugi was doing to him now wasn't real?

The angel's dark eyes flickered to meet Yami's own, his head snapping up so quickly that Yami almost didn't take note of the strange object that hung above Yugi's head, circular in shape and black in colour. Had that always been there?

All of a sudden, Yugi's hand shot out and grabbed Yami's throat. Yami wasn't given a chance to react. "It's fairer this way," Yugi replied simply, his voice dull without pity. He then shoved the Lord onto his back, Yugi now bent over him with his hand still connected to the demon's neck and his bodyweight spread over the demon's waist.

"What… What are you talking about?" The grip around Lord Yami's neck tightened, not quite to the point of choking, but certainly enough to make breathing uncomfortable. This action forced Yami to take in what was happening. Insanity or not, Yugi's hand against his throat definitely _felt_ real. In a sharp, automatic response, Yami made a move to pull away the hand restricting his air. This was quickly regretted however, when Yami realised how much pain this action caused. It dawned on Yami that the muscles in his arms had obviously been damaged due to his hideous burns. Both agony and physical disability had forbid him from rising his arms, despite his determined will. With this in mind, Yami tried to reach out to Yugi in a different way, through the only way he could.

"You would leave eventually anyway," Yugi answered plainly.

Yami didn't understand and he wasn't going to pretend that he did. All he could do was answer honestly and hope that those honest words would composed and appease the other. "I wouldn't leave, Yugi. I have no reason to." Was that enough? Would obvious reasoning satisfy his slave's turmoil?

"You don't need a reason. _God _cursed them. _He_ thought it was right." Yugi's hand finally brought the demon to gasping. "Even Ryou and Malik are leaving me. Your brothers are taking them away. _They_ don't have a choice. Everyone leaves, Lord Yami. If you have to leave as well, isn't it fair that I get a say in it? Just this once? Even if _I_ don't have a choice either?"

"Y-Yugi!" He was gasping, one more sharp squeeze and breath would leave him altogether. "I c-couldn't leave you! I w-wouldn't! I won't!" The ruler wanted his words to be honest, yes, but this honest? Was it a smart thing to admit? Politics deemed Yugi an enemy, Yugi's actions now would hold true to that fact. _His_ Yugi probably wouldn't have cared about that though. After all, it wasn't long ago that Yugi had pounced on him after Yami had admitted to liking the boy. Yugi had known that he was a demon, and hadn't minded. He had acted happy. However, this… wasn't the same Yugi. This Yugi could even take offence to his truthful words… but Yami didn't know what else to do. He had to hope that his Yugi was still in this dangerous angel somewhere. What other choice did he have? "I'd do a-anything for you, d-do you understand? But y-you have to stop t-this! Look at what you're d-doing!" Yami paused, beginning to feel a little faint. "You mean everything to me!"

Silence, and then finally Yugi's grip loosened again, allowing the lord to take in much needed gulps of air.

"Anything…?" the angel whispered more to himself than the person below him. "Would you… buy me things?"

Buy him things? Since when had Yugi ever been materialistic? The request had never been made before but, even if it wasn't simply a greedy whim of this other angel and was something that his Yugi truly wanted, Yami couldn't say that he would refuse him anything.

Yami nodded. "Yes."

A small frown set itself upon Yugi's face, and his black eyes seemed to grow sad.

--(Flashback)--

"Grandpa, I'm home!" a seemingly bubbly Yugi's called from the hallway, taking his shoes off by the front door. "Grandpa?"

Not receiving a reply, Yugi slung his school rucksack a little higher over his shoulder and made his way into the living room.

"You there, Grandpa?" Peeking his head through the doorway, Yugi was a little disappointed to find the room empty. Shrugging, Yugi merely began heading for his room, climbing up the stairs. His Grandpa was most likely upstairs anyway. Probably in the bathroom.

Once entering his room, Yugi started to take off his shirt, thankful that school was over for the day and wanting to change into his casual clothing quickly. An image caught his attention in the mirror however, and, after throwing his shirt to the floor, his changing was momentarily stopped. A bruise was forming under his ribs, and a large one at that. Tentatively, the small boy moved his hand lower to graze over the mark. He winced and let out a short cry when it did, his hand immediately snapping away.

It was obviously a new bruise which was why it was so sore, but in a week or so it would lose its tenderness and begin to fade. The purple and green splodges littering his arms and legs had so far been doing exactly that, so he knew this form experience.

Not feeling able to look at himself any longer, Yugi turned away from his reflection and hurried to get dressed.

After changing, the teenager made to go downstairs again when he noticed that the bathroom door was wide open. His Grandpa hadn't been in the bathroom then? Frowning, Yugi continued downstairs to the kitchen, feeling a little thirsty. There was a chance that the elderly man could be in the kitchen too. Maybe he was busy making dinner? But then… why didn't he greet Yugi when he came into the house? His grandpa should have been able to hear him…

"Grandpa, where are…" Yugi trailed off when noticing a note on the kitchen table.

_Yugi,_

_Work called. I'll be in England for a few days helping them uncover some Viking artefacts at Repton. There's some money in my drawer if you end up needing to buy some groceries. I'll get back as soon as a can._

_Love Grandpa_

_P.S. I don't want you getting gloomy over this, so I bought you a gift to cheer you up. It's tucked under the table on one of the kitchen chairs. _

Looking slightly depressed, the spiky-haired teen pulled out the closest chair from the table and found a cardboard box. He lifting it carefully and took a closer look. On the front was a patch of see-through plastic showing the contents; some oddly shaped gold blocks. Above that were the words 'The Millennium Puzzle', and when Yugi turned the box over he found a picture of what the object was suppose to look like when completed, which happened to be a pyramid.

The small boy placed the box on the table and smiled, though he looked more sad than happy.

"Thanks for trying, Grandpa…"

--(End Flashback)--

"I don't want things."

Yami choked as the grip returned, his eyes widening when seeing white magic being charged from Yugi's free hand.

"Goodbye, Lord Yami…"

* * *

And so the angels were stuck at their own private crossroads, one leading to a dead-end and the other leading to a whole new road altogether. The roads weren't far, and if they were to look hard enough they might have been able to see where each one led.

"Well? What are you waiting for, Ryou? Do it!"

"Don't do this, Y-Yugi!"

"Kill me, Malik-pretty…"

But neither angel could _possibly _see. How could they?

Yugi's grip tightened.

Malik raised his sword.

Ryou pulled back his blade.

How could they when the darkness had forced them blind?

* * *

Yes it's taken me a long time to update, but this is a long, monster-sized chapter. Remember, the story doesn't die, it just takes extremely long naps.

Also, those worried about Desires Frail Nightmare, shouldn't. I do plan to continue it, I'm just more focussed on getting Angels Wearing Masks finished for the time being. I did start this story first, after all.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the latest update. Review?


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

-------(Flashback)-------

Blood. There was _blood _on his hands, _blood_ on his nightshirt, _blood_ on the floor…

Why?

Malik's head was pounding too hard, his heart beating too fast. His limbs ached, both arms and legs feeling tiered and heavy. It hurt to move.

Why?

It was too quiet. Hadn't it been loud a minute ago? Loud with the sounds of yelling, whimpering, gasps and screams? Where had the noise gone?

"B-Brother…"

Why did Isis stutter?

Why did her voice sound so hesitant?

To Malik's right the body of a man sat, his back slouched into the corner and his head lolled to the side. Holes were evident in the man's clothing, presented clearly by the rimmed edges painted red, resembling the centre marking of a dartboard in a most disturbing way. Laid beside Malik's feet was the dart of choice: a pair of badly corroded scissors. The red markings matched the scissor's harshly stained blades perfectly.

"Father…?" Malik's timid voice called out. The sound was emitted softly in a confused and frightened manner; the obvious result of a shaken child.

How?

When?

Just… Just _why?_…

Much like an upset child would seek out comfort from their mother, Malik sought out the comfort of his sister, running straight into her arms. The lack of clothing on his sister's form was far from his mind, as was the feeling of bare skin pressed against his naked arms and calves. When he pressed his tearful face into the unclothed chest of his sibling, he didn't think of the cause, nor of the reason to why his own clothes were stained red.

"I-Isis! Isis!" Malik cried out to his sister desperately, hugging her tightly as his confused, distressed tears fell.

Words of comfort did not immediately reach the boy's ears, most likely because his sister was still in full view of their fallen kin. Only when the boy suddenly began to cry louder did Isis finally take on her expected, arduous role.

Arms wove themselves tightly around Malik's frame, lifting him hurriedly from the floor and placing him on top of Isis's still neatly made bed. Sitting upright, Malik's line of vision was blocked from his father's form, instead only seeing his sibling's face as she kneeled in front of him from the ground.

"Everything's fine. You did nothing wrong." Her voice unsteadily even, Isis put on a brave face, raising her hands to wipe away her little brother's tears. However, her eyes held something akin to fear, and if Malik had been perhaps a few years older, he would have realised just how much that betrayed her brave façade. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

"My… My head.," Malik mumbled softly, sniffing lightly. "I have a headache."

Isis nodded. "Do you hurt anywhere else?"

Malik shook his head.

A look of relief passed her face and then Isis carefully leaned forward to place a gentle kiss upon the child's forehead. "There," she whispered after lips had touched skin "It will leave you soon." She leaned back again but did not leave her position by the bed. "I need you to turn around and face the wall. Is that ok?"

Anxiety burst from Malik's chest, and confusion contorted his young face. Was Isis going to leave him? He didn't want Isis to go! She had to hold him some more and make him feel better! He was upset and his head still hurt! She couldn't just--!

"I'm not going anywhere." Isis smiled kindly, seeming to have read the younger's thoughts.

His thoughts interrupted, Malik's nerves calmed down somewhat by his sister's reassuring words. "Promise?" he asked meekly.

"I promise."

Satisfied by the answer, Malik obediently turned around to face the wall. Footsteps were heard moving away from the bed, but, as Isis promised, she did not leave the room. It was then that Malik gained some understanding as to what Isis was doing.

"Is father…?"

"He's breathing."

Malik thought he heard some sort of relief in her voice, but it was hard to tell with her tone so soft and serious.

Again Isis made her way to the bed, and Malik assumed that she was returning to comfort him some more. He instead, however, heard her shuffling from under the mattress. He knew Isis wanted him to stay staring at the wall, but the unusual action caught his attention. Timidly, with his eyes still slightly wet, Malik turned to look over his shoulder, not daring to move his head too far round in fear of accidentally seeing his father.

Isis was crouched on the floor, her upper body hid from Malik's view as she reached for something under the bed. When she pulled back from underneath the furniture, Malik was confused to see a cardboard box held to her chest. Bits of paper stuck out from the box's lid, the vibrant colours of blues, greens, pinks and yellows making themselves known, along with the pictures of Egyptian monuments and pharaohs.

Money?

The girl reached for an old cloak that laid on the floor and hastily wrapped it around her lewdly clothed body. Blue eyes once again flickered to lilac, and Malik was surprised he wasn't scolded for being caught looking elsewhere from the wall. However, in the back of Malik's mind, Malik knew that Isis had much more urgent matters taking up her thoughts.

There was panic hidden in those eyes…

"I-Isis?" Malik questioned nervously, his sister's unusual behaviour making his unease feel worse.

"Go put your cloak and sandals on, Malik."

His confusion deepened. "B-But what about father? Aren't we going to… to help?"

Isis paused, then turned away. Malik could only stare at the back of his sister's head as she gazed at the unconscious man.

"We can finally leave now," she whispered, almost too quiet for Malik to hear. She turned her head back round, and Malik saw determination now sparkling in her brilliant blue eyes. "Today's the day we leave, Malik." She gave her brother a comforting smile. "So go put on your cloak and sandals, ok?"

-------(End Flashback)-------

He looked so pathetic like this. All Malik had to do was stab his sword downwards and it would be all over. Marik's _life_ would be _over_.

And there was nothing Marik could do about it.

He really was pathetic.

"Gladly." Malik's reply to the demon's request was a snide and determined one as he began lifting his sword higher over the ruler's chest. Darkness swarmed into the base of Malik's thoughts, clouding his judgment and dwelling itself deeper into the boy's views of right and wrong, the difference between righteousness and injustice. The weaker the mind the harder the darkness shall laugh…

…and laugh the darkness did.

Perhaps Malik was being too hasty. Maybe he was going too far, being too emotional in his outburst… but didn't he have every right to act that way? The ruler had caused too much damage. He had pushed Malik to the edge, hurt him in ways Malik didn't know he could be hurt, imprisoned and _raped_ him, wormed his way into Malik's head and forced him to relive the most traumatic of memories… And the demon had done all this and enjoyed it. He had watched it play out with ignorant eyes and childish smiles. Marik had killed him, perhaps not on a physical level, no, his angelic body was still in tack…. but surly his soul was in pieces.

The demon had no doubt killed countless others in this hell for no justified reason. Wasn't this what Marik deserved then? Yes. Death was as sufficient a punishment as any other, and death was nothing less than what Marik truly deserved. There was a saying, wasn't there? A 'life for a life'? Well, if that was the case, Marik's life should have been taken many times already. So, really, what Malik was doing wasn't unfair. It wasn't even selfish. It wasn't _just _revenge.

It was justice. The revenge of _hundreds_.

"Malik-pretty…"

Malik didn't know why Marik had chosen to whisper his name in such a way: soft, gentle and guilty… A subtle attempt of begging, perhaps? Or maybe Marik had finally realised all of his mistakes. Maybe he regretted what he did to the angel because now he realised he wasn't going to get away with it. Then again, perhaps it just came out that way because Malik still had his foot on Marik's neck. Regardless, Malik continued.

"Goodbye, Marik." He took one last look at that pitiful, demon face, seeing nothing but what he wanted to see.

Then Malik pushed the blade down.

"_Brother, stop!"_

Malik's body jolted, the blade stopping a mere inch from the ruler's chest, directly above the demon's heart.

-------(Flashback)-------

What a miserable day. It seemed that no matter what country you were in, school still sucked.

At the age of fifteen, Malik had just finished his first day of 'Koukou'; a Japanese senior high school. It was crap. For one thing, the other students wouldn't stop staring at him, so no matter how many times the Principal told him that foreign students were becoming more common to the school, Malik would continue to believe otherwise. The only other foreign student he saw was an Australian kid who spent most of his time in the library. Honestly, the way everyone tiptoed round him trying to avoid eye contact was annoying. It was like they were _scared_ of him.

Another thing was the language problem. It wasn't that Malik didn't understand a single word of Japanese; no. He was trying and was steadily understanding the language more and more each day. But when he walked past someone and heard his name being whispered into the ear of another without understanding a single word after, it made him want to set that person on fire and scream. For fucks sake, if they had something to say then they should say it to his face! Not his back!

With a heavy rucksack flung over his shoulder, Malik tried to suppress a snarl as he dragged his feet on the pathway, slowly making his way home.

Why did Isis insist that they settle in Japan of all places? The Japanese were wei---

"Ah!"

Malik yelped and jumped when feeling a pinch to his ankle. Hastily turning round as though expecting a fight, Malik was surprised to see a dog staring back at him. The creature was small with short, curly blonde fur and big brown eyes. It was dirty and young; clearly a puppy that hadn't seen a bath before.

"Shoo," Malik told the animal firmly.

The puppy's tail wagged happily in reply.

With an annoyed grumble, Malik turned away. His house was placed in clear view before him, no more than fifty feet away, a quick jog and he would be at the front door. So, with his mind made up, Malik ignored the excited barking coming from behind him and continued on with his journey home. He never thought much of dogs anyway… or any other animal for that matter.

Not that the dog understood this, of course.

No warning was given. When Malik felt the two paws on his back, he was already heading for the floor. He landed clumsily, his arms raised on reflex, and if Malik had been thinking more rationally, he would have been glad that he wore a think, long-sleeved coat, his skin having been protected from the gravel. Malik was not thinking rationally, however. An odd, unexplained fear had took him in a firm hold, and his mind was filled with panic.

A thin, fallen branch fell into Malik's view, and without a second thought, Malik reached for it.

The next thing Malik heard was the puppy yelping. The fact that he had kicked the animal off him it his pursuit to stand had not registered. Malik had the branch in his hand. That was all that mattered. He raised his newly equipped weapon, ignoring his own laboured breathing. Because Malik had to protect himself. Malik had to make sure that no one would take advantage of him or--

"Brother, stop!"

Malik froze and he turned to look over his shoulder, his arm still raised. "Isis…?"

His sister was running down the path towards him, the front door of their home left wide open in Isis's haste. Panic seemed to have consumed her mind as well. "Put that stick down at once!"

Malik dropped his weapon.

Arms wrapped themselves securely around Malik's figure, and the panic quickly began to fade from Malik's being, though his mind was hazy. "I-Isis, there's a dog--!"

"It's gone, Malik."

The comforting words brought instant relief, and when Malik glanced to where he thought the puppy was standing, he noticed that it had indeed left.

There was a long moment of silence before Malik realised what he wanted to say next. "… I'm sorry."

Isis only tightened her hold on him in reply.

-------(End Flashback)-------

Malik couldn't move.

"Malik-pretty…?"

The angel's grip on the sword's handle had loosened, and the foot on Marik's neck was no longer pressed down so harshly against the demon's windpipe. If Marik wanted to he could easily push Malik away. Yet Marik did not move. All he did was look up at the angel with obvious worry.

"Are you ok, Mal--?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Malik's command was anything but a convincing one. "I-I just… I need to… I…"

Malik's body was shaking, Marik could feel the tremors against his throat, exactly where Malik's boot touched his skin. His angel was clearly in distress. To simply lay back and watch his Malik-pretty go through such a thing was unthinkable.

Marik moved silently and with the utmost care, not wanting to frighten the angel or bring him any more upset. His hands swiftly grabbed Malik's ankle, and, before Malik could make any attempt at breaking free, Marik tugged. The boy immediately began falling due to his already unsteady balance, his mind far from comprehending what was happening. A gasp caught itself in Malik's throat and his sword was thrown from his lose grip, the weapon of white magic fading into the air as soon a it left his hand. He landed clumsily into Marik's ready and waiting left wing, the one that hadn't been mangled by the angel's glowing sword. Marik, now standing, jutted the wing forward so Malik was brought against his chest, momentarily trapped. The demon then wrapped his arms around the other for added support, worried that his Malik-pretty would still be shaky on his feet.

Malik immediately began to struggle. "Let go!! Get the hell off me!!"

Marik kept hold of him regardless. "But, Malik-pretty! Your not--!"

A sharp blow to Marik's chest wound and the angel was let free. Pain was evident across Marik's face, yet Malik showed no regret. "Don't touch me! You're not _allowed_ to touch me!!"

More yells, more abuse… but Marik ignored it all. "M-Malik-pretty!"

Just as the ruler feared, the young angel wasn't able to keep his balance. As Malik made to back away, he fell, tripping over his own two feet and landing heavily on his behind.

"Malik-pretty! Are you hurt? Let me help you!" Despite his own pain, Marik moved forward, his broken wing dragging itself across the floor.

"No! Stay away!" Malik shuffled back, his movements awkward and desperate. "Don't come near me! If you do I'll…!"

Marik paused, unwilling to put the other through any further distress. His Malik-pretty's eyes were still dark, but his body was also still shaking. His face showed emotion, something more than just hatred and anger, but also panic, fear, confusion, desperation…

How could Malik show him these things and then tell him to stay away?

"I… I can't." Marik's reply was a humble one, almost like he was ashamed to go against Malik's wishes. "Something's… wrong."

"Yeah, you're not _dead_," Malik hissed, though he made no move to correct this mistake, choosing only to glare at the other with intense loathing.

Such a retort hurt Marik deeply, much more than any of the physical wounds Malik had inflicted, but Marik only blamed himself. Marik thought he had treated the other well, given him protection, warmth, trust, _love_… but no one would treat their lover like this unless they had done wrong. "Please, Malik-pretty!" Marik took another step forward. "Just let me help you!"

"Stop moving! I told you to stay the hell away!" Malik screeched in reply, his shaking limbs scooting his body back to create as much distance between him and the demon as possible.

"Whatever I did wrong, I won't do again!" Marik took a third step. "This isn't you, Malik-pretty!" A fourth step. "I can help you." A fifth step. "I'll--"

"**Stop moving!" **Malik screamed, his back having hit the wall with his desperation building. "Just fucking listen to me for once! You never _listen_ to me!"

A sixth step. "I do, Malik-pretty! I do listen!"

A brick wall. That's what Malik was talking to. A brick wall with a mouth. "Like hell you d--"

Wait a minute… 'Malik-pretty?' Just when exactly had Marik started calling him that? What happened to 'kitten'?

"_I wish… you weren't so frightened of me, kitten…" _

"_Don't call me that."_

Marik hadn't called him 'kitten' for a long time, not once since that moment in Marik's bedroom… Why had he only now noticed?… But… But that was just that one time! A one-off! Marik had never took notice of anything else he said!

"_Nothing I say gets through to you does it? I'm not a cat!"_

"_Don't wear the kitten costume anymore." _

Had he?

"_I don't want it."_

_You didn't like the food yesterday, so I went to Earth and got some stuff that humans eat!" _

Hands dug themselves into Malik's hair and his head was shaken madly. "That doesn't mean anything!"

"Malik-pretty, it's ok. You just need to calm down."

Malik squeezed his eyes shut and moved his hands lower towards his ears, as though to block out Marik's voice. "Don't tell me what to do!"

-------(Flashback)-------

"You can't tell me what to do, Isis!"

Malik stood in his living room, face furious and hands clenched. He glared in the direction Isis was sitting, who watched her brother's tantrum with serious eyes from the couch.

"This is the third time this month. At this rate the school will expel you," Isis replied calmly.

"And that gives you the right to say who I can and can't hang out with?!"

His sister frowned. "This only started once you began accompanying these new 'friends' of yours. One of them has already been expelled I believe… Do you intend to join him?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you will stop playing with hooligans!"

-------(End Flashback)-------

"Then I won't, Malik-pretty. I'm sorry but… but please, I just want to take care of you. I just want to help you, Malik-pretty."

The plea was so soft, so pitifully gentle, like Marik was trying to sooth a wounded animal. It irritated Malik beyond belief, and yet he couldn't help noticing how clear that message rang through his ears, sounding too loud to be any kind of whispered plea.

When Malik lifted his head, Marik's face was the first thing he saw. The demon was crouched in front of him, the gap between them now nonexistent. How could a demon show such an empathetic expression? Present such kind, _genuine_ looking eyes… How could Marik look at him so… lovingly…?

"It's not fair," Malik whispered suddenly, voice weak and tiered, gaze locked onto a pair of eyes with a similar colouring to his own. "Why do you have to… remind me of her, of the only person that- that _loved_ me? I-It's not fair!" Malik's voice began to crack and tears began to build below his black irises. Not knowing what to do and getting angry at his own helplessness, Malik buried his face into his hands, if only to hide from Mark's face. "I-I thought you reminded me of _him_. You _should _remind me of him! Not… Not _her_…"

Hope began fluttering in Marik's chest. He reminded Malik-pretty of loved ones? 'Her' ? Who was this, 'Her'? A family member perhaps? A close friend from Heaven? Or maybe she meant something more… What if she--? No. He would not allow jealousy to overcome him at a time like this. Malik-pretty needed him! And besides, this was good news! He reminded Malik-pretty of people that love him! Not of people that hurt him or made him sad. Maybe that meant that Malik-pretty… liked him too? Surely, Malik-pretty loved the people that 'loved' him, so… Malik-pretty could maybe… love _him_ as well? Because he does love Malik-pretty! He loves the angel more than _anyone_ else!

"Malik-pretty…" Marik had a smile on his face, a very small one as though he didn't want the other to see or know what he was thinking… or perhaps he simply didn't want to set his hopes too high just yet. Carefully the demon motioned his hand out, intending to take one of the angel's hands from his face so he could hold and stroke it tenderly. He would try_ any _method in means of comforting his Malik-pretty, though he knew that to do much more would probably push the boy too far. "I--"

"I hate you."

The coldly stricken words forced Marik's hand to freeze and the smile disappeared altogether.

Hate? Did Malik-pretty really… really…? Marik didn't know what to say to that, so he answered the only way he could, the only way his broken heart would allow.

"I love you."

Immediately Malik's head snapped up and an expression close to fear overcame his face. Such an expression hurt Marik, even more so when a tear fell from one of Malik's blind eyes. His large hand continued the rest of the distance, and Marik took hold of Malik's wrist. "I love you, Malik-pretty."

"S-Shut up! Don't lie! Don't trick me! I hate you! I _hate_ you!" Instantly Malik began to struggle, kick and scream, desperate in his attempts to pull his wrist free. Marik's only thought was to pull the angel closer, embrace the angel as tightly to his chest as he possibly could and restrict all movement.

"I love you."

A sound resembling a wounded sob left Malik's throat, and finally his shaky limbs gave up on him, his struggles ceasing.

Malik's head was carefully manoeuvred onto Marik's shoulder. Malik didn't have the energy to fight it. "I hate you…"

"I love you."

"I… I ha--"

"I loveyou, Malik-pretty."

A dull ringing sound echoed throughout the hall as Malik's halo fell from his head, and with it fell all of Malik's retaliation. For as Malik silently cried on Marik's shoulder, his strength almost completely drained, a most amazing thing happened, a thing that filled Marik's heart with overwhelming faith in the holy being he loved so much.

Malik had raised his arms and hugged him back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------(Flashback)-------

Everything was still, noise was drowned out with deathly silence. Perhaps Ryou had gone deaf. Was it possible to be rendered deaf if you were hit hard enough? Probably, and Dai had given him a few good thumps to the side of his head. Were his ears damaged, then?

Or was it simply because of Dai's eyes? Those eyes that showed Ryou the quality of his future life? A life where he'd be confined to a wheelchair and have scarred skin? Maybe that would be too much to hope for, though. Would Dai go as far as murder? Would his friends?

"What are you waiting for?"

What was he waiting for? He was waiting for his mind to work, for the numbness in his limbs to fade, for _common sense _to hit the people on the other side of that wall.

He was waiting for a miracle.

"What a fucking wuss. He won't even take the chance when it's offered to him!"

More yells and laughter from the sidelines. Dai's friends were taunting him, making him feel even more pathetic. But what would punching Dai do, anyway? It was obvious. It would be Ryou's _death wish_. Everyone here knew that if Ryou so much as pulled his arm back, he'd get the beating of a life time. All of this was just to torture Ryou. They wouldn't allow him to try and fight back.

"I… I don't want to hit you," Ryou whispered, looking at the floor helplessly.

"You don't want to…?" Dai suddenly laughed. "Hmm… is your sister as pathetic as you then? If me and my mates were to corner her, like we're doing to you right now…" Dai moved forward and leaned his head close to Ryou's ear. "If we pinned her to the wall," he whispered, moving his hand down Ryou's back. "…and fucked her." A sharp squeeze was made to Ryou's behind and immediately Ryou's head snapped up, looking completely horrified. "Would she fight back? I guess that could be kinda hot…" Dai's hand left Ryou's body to grab his victim's chin instead. "What do you think, Ryou?" he finished with amusement.

Ryou's fists clenched.

--------(End Flashback)--------

"Well, Ryou?"

The angel's eyes, previously clouded over with memories that took him away from the situation reality had placed him in, suddenly focused, his gaze struck on the smug look across the kneeling demon's face. "I haven't got all day you know. Unless you'd rather I die from heatstroke, that is. That'd be kind of cowardly of you though. Having second th--?"

A harsh blow was made to Bakura's face, his head snapping back as he was knocked ruthlessly onto his back. Ryou could certainly kick…

"Your voice is annoying me. Shut up," Ryou's cold voice answered simply.

Bakura heaved a throaty cough and turned his head to the side, spitting out the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "I'll take that as a 'no'." Silence reached his ears, and then Bakura laughed, his head turning back awkwardly to look at the once tender boy. The angel's eyes gave nothing away. "Fine," Bakura continued, a small smile on his lips, as though accepting his ironic fate. "But before you do, take that stupid halo off your head." His gaze lifted to the sky. "A real man listens to no one but himself. Only weak idiots let people control them."

Anger was the first emotion to overwhelm the angel, he was _not_ a 'weak idiot', but then confusion emerged rapidly on Ryou's face. He didn't understand what 'halo' Bakura was referring to.

A little warily, Ryou reached a hand above his head, feeling out for anything unusual. The boy jolted quite badly when his skin came in contact with something smooth. His fingers travelled very carefully to make out the object's shape, finding it to be round with an empty centre. It definitely felt like a halo.

"What? When did…?"

"Didn't notice it was there, huh?" Silence again. The ruler raised his head, taking in the image of the bewildered angel with amusement, and he sniggered openly. "I didn't think you did." Bakura frowned when his attacker didn't move. "What at you standing like that for? Take the damn thing off!"

Bakura knew he was playing a dangerous game, but he could think of no other way. He needed to get that _thing_ off of Ryou's head. He was certain it was the cause for Ryou's current, murderous behaviour, and since he couldn't take it off, he'd have to convince Ryou to do it instead.

"I don't have to listen to you anymore, Bakura. You're not _above_ me. In fact…" Ryou moved closer to the demon's side, towering over him with narrowed eyes as Bakura laid still. "…you're pretty much below me right now, don't you think?"

The ruler let out a haunting laugh. "What? Are we sharing sex jokes now? You trying to say you want to be on top for a change? Well--"

Another harsh blow as Bakura was kicked across the face again, his head snapping to the side. Bakura wasn't as quick to mouth-off this time, and it took him a moment before he was able to turn his head back. Ryou definitely wasn't in a good mood.

"I'd fight you for it, you know. I love dominating you." He smiled, looking into Ryou's eyes with complete satisfaction and an eerie sense of perversion. The angle glared back at him furiously. "You're a weakling Ryou," Bakura started again, his voice slightly croaky. "You can kill me if you like, but it won't mean a damn thing. Not with that ring on your head. Take responsibility, Ryou. Take responsibility so that later you can't blame this entire thing on that halo above your head."

Ryou's fists clenched.

"I'm _not_ weak."

If Ryou were in his right mind, he probably wouldn't have fallen for it, but…

Bakura's smile widened. "Prove it."

A pale hand darted upwards.

-------(Flashback)-------

A metallic sound rung in the small, white-haired boy's ears, and immediately, a brown pair of eyes darted upwards to those of the treacherous bully's.

"Ah ah ah, Ryou. I saw that. You were getting ready to punch me, weren't you?"

Dai was holding a switchblade in his hand.

"Too bad you're so slow."

It all happened so fast. The knife came at him, Ryou dodged, metal hit the wall, Dai was thrown on his back…

How… How did Dai get thrown on his back?! Did… Did he do…?

"You… You pushed me…" Dai was sat on the floor, a look of unbelief on his face. The small crowd around them looked to be in the same state. Since when did _Ryou_, wimpy little _Ryou_, send people hurdling to the floor? And since when was he able to do that to _Dai? _Dai, the toughest guy in school, pushed over by the school wimp? "You little shit!"

A furious Dai jumped to his feet, pulled back a fist and--

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!"

Everyone froze for a split second, and then Dai hurriedly pulled back his hand. "M-Miss Nakamura!"

A woman in her early forties stomped onto the scene, straight black hair tied back as to not obstruct the view of her small nose, pointed chin and sharp eyes that were framed with rectangular shaped glasses. A long grey skirt covered her legs with the ends of a silk black blouse tucked neatly under the waistband.

Overall, a very frightening looking woman.

"Dai Yamada!" Miss Nakamura grabbed Dai by the back of his collar. Dai's friends scattered instantly. "You'll be coming with me to see the Principal." Dai made a hopeless attempt to free himself from the teacher's clutches, but to no avail. Miss Nakamura then gave a remorseful frown to Ryou. "Are you ok, dear?"

Ryou, still in a state of shock, nodded his head. "Y-Yes, Miss."

The woman's frown only deepened however, when she noticed the full extent of damage displayed on the young student's body. "Hurry to the nurse's office. Those friends of yours will go with you, I'm sure." She then began to drag a foulmouthed Dai off in the opposite direction, leaving Ryou by himself.

Or at least, Ryou _thought_ he was by himself.

"Friends…?" Ryou whispered to himself in a confused manner.

"Ryou!"

Said boy jumped at the excited yell of his name, turning his head cautiously to the side to look for the person who called him. A boy was running towards him, short, curly brown hair framing his smiling face.

"Yuki?"

Large green eyes lit up with honoured recognition. "No way! You know my name?" The some-what hyper youth came to a skidding halt in front of the other, his smile now twice as big.

"Em, y-yes. You were--"

"You really do remember me!" Yuki started again, almost too quick to allow Ryou to answer. "You were so cool, Ryou, knocking Dai to the floor like that!"

Ryou blinked, slightly surprised. "You saw that?"

Yuki nodded enthusiastically. "We both did!"

Both?

"Hey, Ichiro, you can come out now! Miss Nakamura's scared them all off!"

A head full of spiky red hair appeared from around the corner, dark grey eyes timidly looking over to where Yuki stood. "Y-You sure?" the boy questioned quietly, just loud enough for Ryou and Yuki to hear.

Yuki smiled reassuringly, nodding his head. "Yeah, so come on. Don't you want to say hi to Ryou?"

At the mention of Ryou's name, Ichiro's eyes immediately flickered over to the boy beside Yuki, taking in the pale skin and snow-white hair of which adorned his quaint figure. Ichiro then tentatively moved from behind the wall, and when seeing no Dai or friends of Dai, he quickly made his way over to the bewildered-looking Ryou.

Ryou recognised this boy. He'd seen Greg, once the most feared bully in school, corner the red-haired student a few times. Once Dai had been enrolled into the school of course, Greg had been pushed to the side and turned into a henchman/goon rather than a leader. Dai was stronger, smarter; he knew there was no point in picking on a kid for money during every hour of the day when said kid simply wouldn't have any due to that very fact. They needed time before facing the threat of another horrible beating. It was a vicious circle that many poor victims weren't allowed out of.

"He-Hello Ryou," Ichiro said timidly once coming to a stop in front of Ryou's form, shy eyes darting from warm, chocolate-brown eyes to the floor.

Suddenly things seemed to click.

"You two brought Miss Nakamura here…?"

Yuki and Ichiro nodded their heads.

Ryou smiled. "Thank you. I didn't think anyone was going to…"

"Hey, it's the least we can do after all you've done for us. You've saved both our skins more than once," Yuki interrupted again. "You're the only one brave enough to stand up to Dai!"

"Are you ok, Ryou?" Ichiro's voice cut through the other's never-ending praise, his expression set into a deep frown when noticing the littering of bruises on Ryou's form, along with a troubling looking bloody lip.

That seemed to snap Yuki out of his excitement, and, before Ryou could even reply to Ichiro's worry, he had already gently grabbed Ryou's arm. "Come on, me and Ichiro are taking you to the nurse's office."

"Ah, you don't need to do that. Really, I'm fine getting there on my own," Ryou said, kindly turning the offered help down.

Ryou didn't realise he wasn't given a choice.

"Don't be silly," Yuki answered stubbornly, already pulling Ryou back towards the school.

"Friends don't abandon friends," Ichiro added, calmly walking close to Ryou's side as they moved closer to the building.

The beaten boy didn't know what to say, and so, with complaints unable to leave his mouth, Ryou just smiled instead, allowing himself to be lead.

If felt… nice to have friends.

--------(End Flashback)--------

The halo fell to the ground with a dull 'thump', dust flying from the area it laid to rest at, and immediately, Ryou was left feeling utterly perplexed, on the boarder line of disarray. The anger that had once consumed him so completely had now drained away into something nonexistent. The voice that had compelled him to fight, that had told him that killing Bakura was an unquestionable deed that had to be done, that _needed_ to be done, had turned silent.

The hand holding Bakura's blade didn't move.

Bakura's tail darted out and coiled itself around the angel's thin ankle. Ryou had a mere millisecond to comprehend the feeling of the limb tightening against his skin before he was forced onto his back, the scaly appendage having pulled and tripped him to the floor. Bakura pounced on top on him before his body had time to fully hit the ground.

"Tsk." Bakura voiced his 'disappointment' as he strandled Ryou's waist, his hands pinning Ryou's arms beside his head. "You hesitated, Ryou," Bakura mocked lightly, blood from the side of his face dripping onto Ryou's white skin. "_I_ would never hesitate."

"I… I don't…"

"Hm?" Bakura questioned the sudden tremble in Ryou's voice, both his good, and most likely severely damaged, eye watching the angel's movements curiously as Ryou's fists unclenched and his dagger was dropped, the weapon's unusual glow dimming and then fading completely.

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut, trying hopelessly to keep saltwater gathering from below his lashes. "I don't want to…"

--------(Flashback)--------

"You're nothing like him!"

It was too loud. People chattered to each other pleasantly, their voices overlapping with others, like waves crashing against waves; an ocean formed by horrible, undistinguishable noise. The roars of trains would screech as they flied past, like large seabirds screeching as they rushed to fly from a storm. Indeed the mood fitted that of a storm: emotions raging, tears gushing, homes crumbling, loved ones disappearing…

Ryou could hardly stand it. Amane _couldn't_ stand it.

"You're nothing like him, Ryou! I-It's not fair!" Ryou held onto his sister tightly as she cried against his chest, her voice breaking. "I-I don't want to- to leave! I want to stay with you!"

"It'll be ok, Amane. I'll… I'll call you everyday." What else could he say? "You'll see. I'll be calling you so much, you'll be officially sick of me."

Amane furiously shook her head from where she hid in her brother's arms. "No! You'll forget all about me! I know you will! I--"

"Amane!"

A well known voice cut through the noise of the train station with astonishing clarity, a voice that Amane and Ryou were force to zone in to with bitter urgency, despite the ruckus of passengers that swarmed around them.

A woman stood impatiently not but five meters away, her long platinum blonde hair, a colour that matched Ryou's own locks, pulled back into a high ponytail. Her skin was slightly darker than Ryou's, not quite as fair, more a skin colour that resembled that of an English or American citizen. Her eyes reflected a pained, bitter soul, hidden deep in a pool of azure blue.

Ryou unconsciously tightened his hold on the younger sibling. "Mother, I was just--"

"Come along, Amane," the woman, Ryou's mother, interrupted irritably, her focus placed entirely on her daughter. When Amane didn't move her voice rose sharply. "Let go of your brother, now!"

"No!"

"I said now!"

"Amane." Ryou gently coaxed his sister away from his body, his heart breaking with the movement. "Go with mother." Seeing that Amane was once again about to protest, Ryou quickly continued, and leaned in close. "Mother's so sad… I need you to cheer her up for me. Will you do that for me, Amane?"

"But I want to stay with you…" Large tearful eyes gazed up at Ryou. Such an image made it hard for Ryou to smile… it was painful to accomplish so genuinely.

It always was, but people fell for it all the same.

"For me Amane, please?"

A pause.

"You'll call me every day…?"

A nod.

"Of course!"

For something so simple to be so heart-wrenching must be a crime.

"Amane," their mother called again, though her voice was now somewhat solemn.

But that was all it took.

"You better hurry."

A smile and reassuring words.

That was all it took…

--------(End Flashback)--------

Vulnerable, helpless, tired… Ryou just laid there, mumbling incoherent words. His breathing was laboured, exasperated. He would start a sentence and then gasp over and over again, as though unwilling to say what he truly wanted to say.

Bakura understood, though. He knew _exactly_ what his angel was trying to tell him.

_I don__'t want to be like you._

Something within the demon snapped then, the pain from his wounded body drowning a place less physical. "Ryou…"

Previously closed eyes suddenly snapped open at the soft tone of Bakura's voice. Gazing up at the ruler's bloodstained face, Ryou stopped mumbling and began crying, genuine tears rolling down his white cheeks.

"You're not, Ryou." The vice-like grip around the angel's wrists was removed and feather light touches were placed on Ryou's face instead. "You're not."

The dry ground greedily soaked up what little moisture it could from the small drops of human-made rain.

Even if the demon's lips did catch the majority of them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------(Flashback)--------

The scene was too familiar.

White walls and bed sheets.

The smell of disinfectant and sterilises.

People coughing and wheezing.

The constant beeping of machines.

Yugi hated it.

"Stop that moping of yours, Yugi."

Yugi jumped from where he sat beside his Grandpa's bed, startled by the old man's voice. "Grandpa, you're awake!"

His grandfather chuckled from where he laid beneath crisp, white sheets, a single clear tube connecting to his wrinkled arm. "Of course I am, my boy! A little misfortune can't get rid of a stubborn old coot like me!"

Though his grandfather laughed, Yugi found it difficult to put on a mere smile, and ended up frowning instead. "I don't think a heart attack is something to laugh about, Grandpa… It could have been much worse."

"Nonsense." The elderly male carefully sat up and leaned over to give his grandson's hand a small pat. "All I need is a little rest and I'll be fine. You heard the doctor say it yourself."

"He said you needed to rest because you were overworked. You've got a weak heart, Grandpa."

The grey-haired man stiffened and then slowly moved his hand away. "We're not going to have this conversation again. Doctors don't know anything anyway."

The hands in Yugi's lap clenched and grabbed onto his jeans. "How can you say that? Of course the doctors know--"

"Yugi." Said boy quickly closed his mouth at his grandfather's serious tone. Mr Mutou sighed and laid back down again. "I'll be sure to get more sleep, alright? But I'm not quitting my job. We've already been through this, and we're not going through it again."

Yugi just couldn't help it though. He was beginning to notice things, realise things that he hadn't bothered to think about before.

His Grandpa was quite a bit older than Yugi. Of course Yugi had already known that, but he hadn't really thought about what that meant. At least, until now… With the way Grandpa overworked himself… Just how long would it be until Yugi was all alone again? He loved his grandpa, he was his family, his best and only friend. How could he not worry?

"…Yes, Grandpa."

How could he stand to lose another loved one?…

How could he stand to be alone again?…

…He couldn't.

-------(End Flashback)--------

Lord Yami's expression had changed. A moment ago his master's lips had been thin; stretched in pain as he grimaced, even more so when his lips reached out hopelessly for air. Deep, crimson eyes had been wide and pale. Yugi hadn't known that such amazing eyes could grow so dull. It was as though the colour in Yami's eyes had been drained, as though the blood-like hue was being drawn back into his body. Red wasn't a normal colour for eyes, anyway. Red was the colour for blood. Perhaps that was where the colour had rushed to? Had it rushed to his veins to join he blood flow?… No. Skin wouldn't grow so pale if that were the case.

Yami had been scared. Yugi should know, he'd worn that expression more than once, during those moments when he knew he was about to lose everything.

Of course, if Lord Yami were dead, Yugi should expect his expression to change.

However, Lord Yami was not dead.

"Yugi…"

He was still very much alive.

The ruler's demeanour was much more calm now, that overwhelming fear didn't seem to be present at all. That… didn't make sense. The fact that the ruler now gazed up at him with such sympathetic eyes just wasn't normal.

"You don't have to do this, Yugi. So please… don't cry."

Cry? Was he crying? But that was silly. If Yugi was crying, then surly he would have noti--

At some point Yugi must have let go of Yami's neck, as his hand was no longer gripped around the ruler's throat but instead laid trembling on the demon's cheek. Yugi's other hand had fallen to his side, the large volume of white magic vanishing as quickly as it appeared, leaving wisps of white smoke to slowly disintegrate into the air. His now free hand then lightly touched the smooth area of skin below his left eye.

Tears were indeed falling from Yugi's eyes.

"Please, Yugi…"

The Lord's frail voice rung like a high pitched scream through Yugi's ears. The sound was like a slap in the face; the impact so strong that it jolted the angel's body, his hand retracting from the demon's cheek as though he were a wild beast about to bite him. His startled eyes widened, and it was as though Yugi were seeing the demon for the first time since the disaster in the entrance hall, as though he had only now just noticed the horrendous burns covering Lord Yami's arms.

The angle began to tremble. "Did… D-Did I really do…?"

Lord Yami inhaled deeply through his nose, hope giving him a new lease of life. His Yugi was still in there somewhere. "No, Yugi. Not… Not you." The lord was finding it hard to breath again, and though he wanted to comfort the angel further, his strength proved to be much weaker than his will. "It's over now."

"It's over…?" Yugi's voice was very small, nothing more than a confused whisper. Finally his line of vision was drawn away from the Ruler's wounds, his focus instead drawn to the most sincere face Yugi had ever seen, a face that angels everywhere deemed demons to be incapable of expressing.

-------(Flashback)-------

Only moments ago Yugi had been sleeping soundly, however the noise from downstairs had roused him terribly and he now sat stiffly in his bed. He didn't know what time it was, only that it was late; daylight hadn't yet started to break though his curtains.

Immediately the idea of a burglar in the house popped into Yugi's head.

It took Yugi a little while to shoo that thought away. After all, he didn't live alone in this house. It could easily be grandpa trudging about in the kitchen. Yeah, that's right. Of a matter of fact, Yugi had been waiting for his Grandpa to arrive back from the airport. Ok, so he had waited well past the time Grandpa said he'd be back for, Yugi had assumed that the elderly man had stayed over in Australia to work for an extra day as such a thing wasn't uncommon, and then gone to bed, but maybe there had been a delay at the airport? Maybe--

**CRASH. **

Yugi scrambled from his bed and picked up the heavy telescope beside his window without thinking. The unlikely weapon now in hand, Yugi slowly stalked his way down the stairs, all the while thinking: 'It's Grandpa. It's definitely Grandpa. It's not a burglar. It's _definitely _not a burglar!'.

"G-Grandpa?"

Seeing the light on in the kitchen, the small teen cautiously peeped his head into the room from the doorway.

No burglar, rather a weary old man cleaning some broken class from the floor.

"Oh, Yugi. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" His grandpa stood after brushing the last shard of glass into the dustpan. Greeting his grandson with a tiered smile, he then dragged his feet over to the bin to dispose of the mess.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yugi left his plastic club in the hallway and stepped into the kitchen. "Ah, no, Grandpa. It's alright, but… are you ok?"

"Hm?" While dumping the glass into the bin, Sugoroku caught Yugi's worried expression. "Oh, this?" He placed the dustpan and brush on one of the counters. "I was having a clumsy moment, that's all", he answered with a shaky laugh. "I was getting a glass of water to take an aspirin and--"

"You don't look well."

Sugoroku began to rub at his temples, his weary expression turning into an even more weary and miserable one. "Yugi, please. I'm sick of having the same argument over and over again."

Yugi almost did drop it, like he usually did, but for whatever reason, today was different. "You said you'd rest more but you haven't been. If you keep going on like this you'll--"

"Yugi, I said--!"

"But it's true!" Yugi couldn't let his grandpa interrupt him this time. He couldn't stand torturing himself over the 'what ifs' any longer. "You're the only family I have, Grandpa! None of the others want me! You keep having heart attacks and I'll most likely go into care! You won't be my guardian any more! But that's not even the worst of it! What if you die, Grandpa?!"

"Yugi, that's enough! You--"

"**No!"**

The scream of defiance shocked the archaeologist and he turned silent.

"I'll have no one left, Grandpa, do you understand? You go on about working so you can support me. How can you support me if you're… if you're _dead_, Grandpa? How can I carry on with this education you say is so important when all I'll be able to think about is 'all the people I love are gone'? I- I can't…" Yugi suddenly began crying. "I can't l-lose anymore people, Grandpa. I… I just can't!"

Yugi didn't realise he was on the floor until his Grandpa knelt down and put his arms around him. It was silent for a long time before Sugoroku figured out what to say.

"You really are a lot like your father, Yugi." Comforting arms tightened their hold around Yugi's form, but it were the words that came after that gave Yugi the most comfort. "I won't leave you, Yugi. We're going to figure something out, I promise."

Unlike previous promises, Yugi felt that he could finally trust his grandpa to keep this one.

-------(End Flashback)-------

Face buried in his hands, Yugi dug his fingers into his hair and scrunched his eyes tightly shut. Was it over? Was it really? Just… Just how could it be? How could he accept that? Things would go wrong, things _always_ went wrong. Even knowing this though, he wanted to believe it. He really, _truly_ did, but… It never worked out that way. If things had gone right, just once, then Yugi wouldn't be like this in the first place. He couldn't believe Lord Yami.

…Could he? Grandpa… He remembered Grandpa promising something similar. Had Grandpa kept his word? He couldn't remember…

Really, just what did Lord Yami mean by 'over'?

"I'm scared," Yugi whispered finally, his voice like a dying songbird: desperate, fragile, but beautifully pure. When not hearing a reply however, the songbird used what little energy it felt it had to lift its head. "Lord Yami?"

The demon's eyes weren't open anymore, and when Yugi leaned closer to give his shoulder a gentle shake, the ruler didn't so much as grunt.

"Lord Yami?!" Panic. Panic and fear. That was all Yugi felt in that moment. "You- You just said-! You just promised-!" There was a frustrating pause where Yugi just froze up, for the first time battling that dark doubt in his heart that had always been there.

Suddenly the angel was tumbling from the bed, his jerky movements rushing him awkwardly to his master's door and into the hallway. The halo threw itself to the floor, the darkness leaving his eyes with the same speed in which he ran.

He wasn't going to lose another loved one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's the end of Chapter 19. It's crappy, I know. Probably not worth the wait.

OMFG where have you been?!

The chapter had been left half completed for a long time now, as I'm sure you're all aware. The main reason for this was my mum's unexpected diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer months ago… the news promptly destroyed my mood for writing as well as snowballing into a lot of other aspects of my life. Needless to say none of the family was doing well, and though we're doing better now, things are still stressful.

I do want to thank the people that sent me reviews and messages in my long time of absence. They did help.


End file.
